The Small Business Administration's fee relief on 7(a) loans — zero upfront guarantee fee and zero annual fee during the relief window — expired September 30, 2023, per the SBA's own information notices, and standard fees returned on loans approved on or after October 1, 2023. What changed for a small operation: a typical $500,000, 10-year 7(a) loan now carries an upfront guarantee fee of up to 3.75% of the guaranteed portion — several thousand dollars at closing that the two prior years didn't charge.
Orer News publishes information, not lending advice; fee schedules below are the SBA's published ones, and lenders pass them through by rule.
What exactly came back?
Two fees, per the SBA's fee schedule in effect from October 2023. The upfront guarantee fee, paid at closing, scales with loan size and maturity: loans under $150,000 carry a percentage of the guaranteed portion rising with term length, and larger loans reach 3.75% for terms over 12 months — on a $500,000 loan with a 75% guarantee, that fee applies to $375,000 and can exceed $14,000, though many lenders finance it into the loan. The annual service fee, a small percentage of the outstanding guaranteed balance, also returned, typically folded into servicing rather than billed separately.
The relief had been in place since 2020 under pandemic-era appropriations, which is why borrowers who got loans in 2021–2023 remember no fee at all.
What does this mean for a small operation planning to borrow?
Budget the fee as part of closing costs, and compare total cost of capital rather than headline rate: a 7(a) loan at a slightly lower rate but with a five-figure guarantee fee can cost more than a different structure over a short hold period, and costs less over a full term if the rate advantage holds. Two operational notes from the SBA's published rules: the fee applies to the guaranteed portion, not the whole loan, so lender structure affects it; and loans under $150,000 keep materially lower fee percentages, which matters for operators sizing a first credit request.
What is established: the relief expired, the fee schedule is published, and it applies to loans approved after October 1, 2023. What is not: any future congressional action on fees — this relief has lapsed and been revived before, and planning should assume the published schedule.
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