Commercial · Calculator
SBA Loan Qualifier
7(a) vs 504 eligibility, cash-flow-supported max loan, down payment, and guarantee fees — with a clear recommendation based on your scenario.
Loan Request
Cash Flow
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization.
Existing P&I across all current business loans.
Property
SBA requires owner-occupancy of 51% existing, 60% new construction.
Borrower
Recommendation
SBA 504 recommended
SBA 504 typically beats 7(a) on owner-occupied real estate — long-term fixed rate on the CDC portion (40%) is hard to beat.
Cash Flow Test
Down Payment
Estimated Costs
Program Eligibility
Frequently asked
About this calculator.
What's the difference between SBA 7(a) and 504?
SBA 7(a) is the versatile program — up to $5M for working capital, business acquisitions, owner-occupied commercial real estate, equipment, and refinancing. SBA 504 is fixed-asset only (owner-occupied real estate or heavy equipment) with a 50/40/10 structure: 50% bank financing, 40% CDC-financed long-term fixed rate, 10% borrower equity. 504 wins on commercial real estate when the rate edge matters; 7(a) wins on flexibility.
What's the minimum down payment on an SBA loan?
Standard properties: 10%. Special-purpose properties (hotels, restaurants, gas stations, car washes, etc.): 15%. SBA 7(a) can sometimes go to 5–10% with a strong file; SBA 504 is firmly at 10% borrower equity injection by design.
What DSCR do SBA lenders require?
Minimum 1.15× based on EBITDA / total debt service (existing + new). Preferred 1.25×+. Sub-1.15× cases need compensating factors (large down payment, strong personal guarantor, escrow).
How long does an SBA loan take to close?
7(a) typically 30–60 days. 504 60–90 days because of the second-lender CDC structure. Working capital and equipment loans can close faster — real estate is the slowest because of appraisal + environmental + title.
What is the SBA guarantee fee?
A one-time fee paid to SBA in exchange for the agency guaranteeing the lender against default. Tiered by loan size: 2% of loan up to $150k (waived if term ≤1 year), 3% of loan $150k–$700k, 3.5%–3.75% of the guaranteed portion above $700k. Capped at SBA's max guaranteed amount of $3.75M.
Owner-occupied CRE deals
SBA is usually the right answer.
Below-market long-term fixed rate, low down payment, no balloon. We have direct relationships with the top SBA preferred lenders nationally. Send the deal — we\u2019ll tell you 7(a) vs 504 in twenty minutes.
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