SBA 7(a) Loan Calculator: Payments & Amortization

You can use our SBA loan payment calculator above to see what your payments would be. It will also show you a full amortization table breaking down the principal and interest portions of each of your loan payments.

Grasshopper Bank is a recommended provider of ours that offers SBA 7(a) loans. As an SBA Preferred Lender, approval and funding speeds can be much faster than other providers. You can also get pre-qualified in under 10 minutes, with no impact on your credit score.

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Our SBA 7(a) loan calculator will calculate your monthly payments based on the loan amount, interest rate, and loan term. It can also give you an estimate of your debt service coverage ratio (DSCR), a figure lenders often evaluate to determine eligibility for a loan.

Loan Amount

The maximum loan amount for SBA 7(a) loans is typically $5 million. Lenders can choose to offer smaller or larger amounts depending on their policies. Beyond that dollar amount, however, lenders receive no additional insurance or protection from the SBA in the event a borrower defaults.

Loan amounts may also vary depending on the specific type of 7(a) loan you apply for 7(a) small loans and express loans, for instance, have a maximum of $350,000 and $500,000.

Repayment Term

SBA 7(a) loans have a maximum repayment term of 25 years for real estate. For equipment, inventory, or working capital, that maximum is 10 years.

Since the repayment term has a large impact on your monthly payments, it’s important to consider how this may affect your business cash flow. If the repayment term is too short, you may want to look into alternate sources of funding or choose a smaller loan amount

Interest Rate

SBA 7(a) loans are subject to maximum rates that usually fluctuate with an index, such as the US Prime Rate or SBA PEG Rate. While individual lenders may offer more competitive rates, they cannot exceed the maximums established by the SBA.

You can view our guide on SBA loan rates to view the current maximums for each SBA loan program.

Annual Business Income

Enter your company’s net operating income (NOI). This figure will be used to determine your DSCR, which some lenders use to see if you meet minimum revenue requirements, regardless of the strength of your credit or finances.

SBA 7(a) Loan Calculator Outputs

After entering the figures into the SBA 7(a) calculator, you’ll be given numbers for your monthly payment, DSCR, and an amortization table. Here’s how to interpret each of these items.

Monthly Payment

Ensure you’re comfortable with this figure as failing to make timely payments or missing payments altogether can negatively impact your business credit score. That’s something that can not only make it more difficult to get approved for subsequent loans but can also impact the rates you qualify for.

To ensure you can continue making timely payments, we recommend having an emergency fund to cover unexpected shortages in cash flow due to emergencies or fluctuations in business revenue. It’s also a good idea to consider whether your loan has a fixed or variable interest rate. Loans with variable interest rates carry the possibility that your future payments could increase.

DSCR

DSCR is designed to measure your company’s ability to repay debts based on its NOI. It’s calculated by taking your business NOI and dividing it by the current year’s obligations. A ratio of 1.25x or greater is usually good enough to qualify for a business loan.

Use our DSCR calculator to determine the figure for your company.

Amortization Table

An amortization table shows how your loan balance decreases with each subsequent payment. It also breaks down how much each of your payments goes towards the principal and interest portions of your loan.

With our amortization table, you’ll see that on a new loan, the majority of each payment goes toward interest. However, as you continue making more payments, a larger portion of the payments goes towards the principal balance of the loan.

Other SBA Loan Fees

Our SBA 7(a) loan calculator will show you the recurring monthly payment amounts, but you’ll also need to be aware of other costs that may be associated with getting the loan. Some of these costs can be paid upfront or rolled into your loan amount.

SBA Guarantee Fee

SBA lenders that experience defaults have a portion of the financial losses covered by the SBA, and it’s this fee that helps cover the possibility of any such payouts. The SBA guarantee fee can range from 0% to 3.75% depending on the details of your loan.

Packaging Fee

Packaging fees may range from $2,000 to $4,000. This is meant to cover a lender’s costs for gathering, organizing, and compiling the paperwork required to meet SBA requirements.

Extraordinary Servicing Fee

Complex loans may be subject to an additional servicing fee, generally up to 2% or more. This fee may apply in circumstances where an unusual amount of additional due diligence is required, such as when additional inspections are needed to verify certain repairs on a construction project.

Other Third-party Fees

Depending on the circumstances of your loan, you may incur fees from third-party vendors. Some common examples include fees assessed by a title company, appraisal company, or law firm and costs related to completing a business valuation or environmental assessment of property.

Prepayment Penalty

If you’re considering paying your loan early or paying more than the minimum payment, be aware that SBA 7(a) loans with a repayment term longer than 15 years have a prepayment penalty for the first three years. Paying more than 25% of your loan may result in a 5% prepayment penalty for your first year, 3% in the second year, and 1% in the third year.

Other SBA Loan Programs

In addition to the 7(a) loan program, the SBA has other financing options available depending on your intended use of the funds. The SBA 504 loan program, for instance, can provide funding for acquiring large assets that promote the creation of jobs. Disaster loans are also available for businesses that have been impacted by floods, hurricanes, or other declared disasters.

Head over to our guide on SBA loan types to learn about the different financing options available.

Bottom Line

Our SBA 7(a) loan calculator can calculate your minimum monthly payments and illustrate how your loan balance would decrease with each payment. While SBA loans can offer some of the most competitive rates available, be aware that it can take 30 to 90 days or more to get funded. You can check out our guide on how to get a small business loan for tips on speeding up the process and improving your chances of getting approved at a competitive rate.