Current SBA Loan Rates (June 2026)

Here's the short version, current as of June 2026. The Prime rate is 6.75%. Most SBA 7(a) acquisition loans over $350K price at 9.5% to 9.75% (that's Prime plus a lender spread of 2.75% to 3.0%). The maximum 7(a) loan is $5,000,000, and most lenders want a debt service coverage ratio of at least 1.25x before they'll fund a deal.

SBA rates aren't a single posted number the way a mortgage rate is. They float off Prime, they're capped by the SBA based on loan size, and the exact rate your lender quotes depends on the deal. The rest of this page breaks that down, and I update the numbers here monthly so this stays a reliable reference rather than a snapshot that rots.

Current rates at a glance

If you want to understand the full mechanics behind these numbers (eligibility, seller notes, the application timeline, DSCR math), the SBA 7(a) loan guide is the deep dive. This page is the quick-reference companion to it.

The Prime rate is the anchor

Almost every SBA 7(a) loan is a variable-rate loan tied to the Wall Street Journal Prime rate. Prime tracks the Federal Reserve's target rate, moving up or down whenever the Fed adjusts. As of June 2026, Prime sits at 6.75%, where it's been since the Fed's December 2025 move.

Your loan rate is Prime plus a spread that the SBA caps. When Prime moves, your rate moves with it (more on the quarterly reset below). So the single most important number to watch is Prime, because everything else is built on top of it.

Variable-rate caps by loan size

The SBA doesn't let lenders charge whatever they want. It caps the spread above Prime, and the cap depends on how big the loan is. Smaller loans carry higher caps (they cost more per dollar to underwrite and service, so the SBA allows a wider margin). Here are the maximum spreads as of FY2026:

• Loans over $350,000: Prime + 3.0% maximum (so up to 9.75% today)
• Loans $250,000 to $350,000: Prime + 4.5% maximum (up to 11.25% today)
• Loans $50,000 to $250,000: Prime + 6.0% maximum (up to 12.75% today)
• Loans $50,000 or less: Prime + 6.5% maximum (up to 13.25% today)

These are ceilings, not the rate you'll actually get. A strong borrower on a clean $1.5M deal often comes in below the cap. But the cap matters because it tells you the worst case your lender can legally charge. (For a sub-$350K loan, you really want to negotiate the spread, because the cap leaves a lot of room.)

What an acquisition loan actually prices at

Most business acquisitions I see fall above the $350K threshold, which means they live under the Prime + 3.0% cap. In practice, lenders rarely max it out. A typical, well-qualified acquisition loan over $350K prices somewhere between 9.5% and 9.75% right now (Prime of 6.75% plus a spread of 2.75% to 3.0%).

That's the number I plug into deal models by default. If a lender quotes you materially above 9.75% on a clean deal over $350K, ask why. Either there's something in the file pulling the spread up, or you can do better with a different lender. The SBA 7(a) lender directory (built from FOIA loan data) is a good place to compare who's actually funding deals like yours.

Fixed vs variable rates

The SBA allows both fixed and variable 7(a) loans, but the vast majority of acquisition loans are variable. A fixed-rate 7(a) is technically available, and the SBA caps it too (the fixed ceiling uses a different formula based on a fixed base rate plus a margin), but most lenders don't actively offer it, and the ones that do tend to price it higher than the variable option to compensate for taking on rate risk themselves.

For most buyers, that means you're accepting a variable rate. The practical implication: your monthly payment can change over the life of the loan as Prime moves. When you stress-test a deal, don't just model today's 9.75%. Model what happens if Prime climbs 1% or 2% (I usually check the DSCR at Prime + 200 basis points to see whether the deal still clears 1.25x under rate pressure).

How rates reset quarterly

On a variable 7(a), your rate doesn't change the instant Prime moves. The SBA requires lenders to adjust on a set schedule, and most adjust quarterly (the first business day of each calendar quarter is the common reset). So if the Fed cuts in mid-February, your rate typically doesn't drop until the April reset.

This works both directions. A Prime hike doesn't hit you until the next quarterly reset either, which gives you a little buffer. The takeaway: the rate you sign at closing is good until the next reset date, then it recalculates off whatever Prime is at that point, holding your lender's spread constant. Some loans reset monthly instead, so check your specific note.

FY2026 guarantee fees

On top of the interest rate, the SBA charges a one-time guarantee fee, calculated on the guaranteed portion of the loan. It's usually rolled into the loan rather than paid out of pocket, but it's a real cost worth knowing. The fee schedule resets each federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). For FY2026, the schedule is:

• Loans up to $150,000: 2.0% (the old small-loan fee waiver ended, so these loans now carry a fee again)
• Loans $150,001 to $700,000: 3.0%
• Loans $700,001 to $5,000,000: 3.5% on the guaranteed portion of the first $1,000,000, plus 3.75% on the guaranteed portion above $1,000,000
• Manufacturers (NAICS 31-33): 0% on loans up to $950,000

One nice detail for standard acquisition deals: there's no prepayment penalty. The SBA's 5-3-1 prepayment fee (5% in year one, 3% in year two, 1% in year three) applies only to loans with terms of 15 years or longer, which in practice means real estate loans. A standard 10-year acquisition loan has no prepayment penalty at all, so if you want to pay it down early or refinance, you can (I think this is one of the most underrated features of the program).

A worked monthly payment example

Numbers are easier to trust when you can see them. Say you're buying a business and need a $1.2M SBA 7(a) loan at 9.75% over a 10-year term. The fully amortizing monthly payment works out to roughly $15,700 per month, or about $188,300 per year in debt service.

That annual debt service number is what you check the DSCR against. If the business throws off $250K in SDE, your DSCR is roughly $250K / $188,300, or about 1.33x, which clears the typical 1.25x minimum with a little cushion. If the same business only produced $215K in SDE, you'd be at about 1.14x, below most lenders' floor, and the deal probably doesn't get funded at that price without restructuring (a bigger seller note, a lower price, or more equity down).

Run your own numbers with the free SBA calculator, which does the amortization, DSCR, and cash-on-cash math for any loan amount, rate, and term you enter.

Last reviewed: June 2026

I review and update the numbers on this page monthly. The rates above are accurate as of June 2026, with Prime at 6.75% (set December 2025). Because SBA rates float off Prime and reset quarterly, the actual rate on any loan changes whenever the Fed moves, and the guarantee fee schedule resets every October at the start of the new federal fiscal year.

Treat this as a reference point, not a quote. Always verify the current Prime rate and the live fee schedule with your lender and at sba.gov before you commit to a deal. Your lender's actual quote is the only number that's binding.