SBA published Information Notices 5000-881797 and 5000-881796 on September 3, 2026. Both take effect October 1, 2026 and govern loans approved through September 30, 2027 — a new 7(a) upfront fee schedule, a 0% fee for qualifying borrowers, a waiver on the 504 side, and a clarification of how loans approved within 90 days of each other are treated.
Wert-Berater prepares independent, lender-grade feasibility studies for SBA 7(a), SBA 504 and USDA Rural Development financing. Since 1998 the firm has completed 4,000+ engagements representing approximately $41.2 billion in evaluated project value. Fixed fee, quoted before any work begins, never contingent on the finding.
Request a Fee QuoteThe U.S. Small Business Administration issued two fee notices on September 3, 2026: Information Notice 5000-881797, covering 7(a) program fees for fiscal year 2027, and Information Notice 5000-881796, covering 504 program fees for the same year. Both carry an effective date of October 1, 2026, and both apply to loans approved from that date through and including September 30, 2027.
That effective date is the part worth holding onto. As of this article's publication the schedules described below are not yet in force — they govern approvals in the coming fiscal year, not applications being priced today. A borrower comparing quotes this month is looking at FY 2026 pricing unless the approval will land on or after October 1.
The notices set program fees. They are not interest rates, and they are not a complete estimate of what it costs to close a loan. Guaranty fees sit alongside interest, packaging and closing costs, and third-party report costs, all of which vary by lender and transaction.
For SBA 7(a) financing with a maturity exceeding 12 months, and outside the exemptions described below, the FY 2027 upfront guaranty fee is:
| Gross loan amount | Upfront guaranty fee |
|---|---|
| $150,000 or less | 2% of the guaranteed portion |
| $150,001 – $700,000 | 3% of the guaranteed portion |
| $700,001 – $5,000,000 | 3.5% of the guaranteed portion up to and including $1,000,000, plus 3.75% of the guaranteed portion above $1,000,000 |
| Maturity of 12 months or less | 0.25% of the guaranteed portion |
Two mechanics in that table are frequently misread. First, the tier is selected by the gross loan approval amount — the guaranteed and unguaranteed portions combined — while the fee itself is calculated on the guaranteed portion only. A $2 million loan does not attract 3.5% of $2 million. Second, on loans of $150,000 or less the lender may retain no more than 25% of the fee, meaning at least 1.5% is remitted to SBA.
Separately, the FY 2027 lender's annual service fee is 0.55% of the outstanding balance of the guaranteed portion. The notice is explicit that lenders may not pass this fee on to the borrower. Export Working Capital Program loans, Working Capital Program loans, and SBA Express loans made to veteran-owned businesses fall under separate provisions.
The FY 2027 7(a) notice sets the upfront fee at 0% for loans of $700,000 or less made to three categories of borrower: manufacturers (NAICS sectors 31–33), specified food-supply-chain businesses identified by NAICS code in the notice, and businesses located in a rural area.
The qualifying test combines size with type or location. A manufacturer borrowing $900,000 is outside the exemption, because the loan exceeds the threshold. A $400,000 loan to a business that is neither a manufacturer, nor within the listed food-supply-chain codes, nor rural is likewise outside it. The food-supply-chain list is defined by specific NAICS codes rather than by general description, and two trucking codes within it are limited to refrigerated and frozen trucking, farm products, grain products and livestock — so eligibility is worth confirming against the notice itself rather than assumed from a business description.
The 7(a) notice is titled for fees, but it also carries a clarification of the 90-day rule, and this one has teeth for anyone contemplating a staged borrowing structure.
When two or more 7(a) loans with maturities exceeding 12 months are approved for an applicant — including its affiliates — within 90 days of each other, the loans are treated as a single loan for the purpose of determining both the percentage of guaranty and the upfront fee calculation. The rule applies whether the loans were approved by the same lender or by different lenders. The notice states plainly that lenders are not permitted to split loans in order to avoid fees.
The practical effect is that two $600,000 loans approved five weeks apart are not two separate $150,001–$700,000 transactions at 3%. They are assessed as a $1.2 million loan, which reaches into the 3.5%/3.75% tier. Affiliate structures deserve particular attention here, because the aggregation follows the applicant and its affiliates rather than the individual borrowing entity.
On the 504 side, Information Notice 5000-881796 waives both the upfront guaranty fee and the annual service fee for loans to manufacturers (NAICS sectors 31–33), specified food-supply-chain businesses, and businesses located in a rural area. Notably, the waiver reaches loans made under both the 504 Debt Refinance with Expansion option and the 504 Debt Refinance without Expansion program.
For all other SBA 504 financing approved in FY 2027, the schedule is:
| 504 loan category | Upfront guaranty fee | Annual service fee |
|---|---|---|
| Standard 504 loans | 0.50% | 0.203% of the outstanding balance |
| Debt Refinance without Expansion, outside the waiver | 0.50% | 0.204% of the outstanding balance |
The 0.204% figure is 0.203% plus 0.001% — 20.3 basis points plus a further 0.1 basis point. It is a small distinction that matters only because the two rates are easy to transpose when a CDC quotes them.
A fee schedule is a pricing instrument, not an underwriting standard. Nothing in either notice alters eligibility, collateral or equity expectations, or the analysis a lender performs to satisfy itself that a borrower can repay.
Two adjacent developments are sometimes folded into the same conversation, and they are separate. The combined 7(a) and 504 borrowing capacity of up to $10 million, effective July 4, 2026, comes from a different policy — we covered it in SBA Doubles the Combined 7(a)/504 Loan Limit to $10 Million. And the origination policy changes arriving on the same October 1 date come from SOP 50 10 8.1, not from these fee notices. Two documents, one effective date, different subject matter.
On third-party analysis, the governing authority is unchanged. 13 CFR §120.160(b) provides that SBA may require a feasibility study; it is discretionary rather than automatic. In practice, lenders and CDCs frequently require independent feasibility analysis where repayment depends substantially on projections rather than on demonstrated operating history — new construction, startups, special-purpose property and projection-dependent expansions.
Sources: SBA Information Notice 5000-881797, 7(a) Fees Effective October 1, 2026 for Fiscal Year 2027 and 90-Day Rule Clarification, published September 3, 2026; SBA Information Notice 5000-881796, 504 Fees for Fiscal Year 2027, published September 3, 2026. This article provides general information, not individualised financial or legal advice. Confirm current requirements and transaction-specific terms with your lender or CDC.
President, Wert-Berater, Inc. — independent feasibility study consultants since 1998. 4,000+ engagements completed across all 50 states and internationally, evaluating $41.2 billion in project value for SBA, USDA, EB-5, conventional, and institutional financing decisions. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and agency in every engagement.
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