Equity injection checker
SBA requires at least 10 percent equity on a business acquisition, a partner buyout, or a new business, measured against total project cost. Itemize your project below to see the required amount and whether what you have covers it.
Total project cost
computed from the loan implied by your numbers below, SBA's fiscal year 2026 fee schedule; edit it if your lender quoted a different figure, or set it to zero to pay at closing instead
Sources of the injection
counts only on full standby, no payments during the standby period
Short by $21,625.
The breakdown
Confirm the total project cost and the source of every dollar with your lender before the appraisal is ordered. SBALoanLenders does not lend and does not underwrite.
How this is calculated
Total project cost adds the purchase price, closing costs, working capital, equipment or leasehold work, and a financed guaranty fee. Ten percent of that total is the required injection under SOP 50 10 8. The sources you enter, cash, a standby seller note, and anything else documented, add up against that requirement.
What this leaves out
This covers 7(a) changes of ownership and new businesses. It does not cover 504, where the equity floor starts at 10 percent and can rise to 15 or 20 depending on time in business and property type; see the 504 blended-rate calculator for that structure. It does not cover the tax treatment of any source, which is a question for a CPA. Read SBA loan down payment rules for the full rule, including what a lender traces on each source.
Before you call the lender
- Why total project cost instead of the purchase price?
- Because that is what the rule measures against. The requirement covers the purchase price plus closing costs, working capital raised through the loan, equipment or leasehold work financed at the same time, and the guaranty fee where it is financed rather than paid. Budgeting 10 percent of the purchase price alone comes up short, usually by tens of thousands of dollars.
- Does a standby seller note count in full?
- Only on full standby, meaning no payments of principal or interest during the standby period. How much of the requirement a standby note may cover is set by SBA and has moved as the rules are revised, so this checker totals whatever amount you enter without assuming a cap; confirm the current figure with your lender before relying on it.
- Does a gift count?
- Yes, when it is documented as a gift, with a signed letter stating no repayment is expected, and the funds are seasoned in your account long enough to look like savings rather than a recent transfer.
- Does this apply to every 7(a) loan?
- No. It attaches to changes of ownership, including partner buyouts, and to new businesses. A working capital or equipment loan for an already-operating business is underwritten on different terms.