SBA 7(a) maximum loan amount and the per-borrower limit

Two limits, two different questions

People ask "what is the maximum SBA loan" and get tangled because section 120.151 contains two numbers. The first sentence is an aggregate: the SBA portions of all loans to one borrower, including the borrower's affiliates as defined in 13 CFR 121.301(f), must not exceed a guaranty amount of $3,750,000. The second sentence is a per-loan cap: "The maximum loan amount for any one 7(a) loan is $5,000,000." One is about the size of a loan. The other is about how much of SBA's guarantee you can hold at once across everything.

How they connect

The numbers fit together because of the guarantee percentage in 120.210. A loan above $150,000 carries a maximum 75 percent guarantee, and 75 percent of $5,000,000 is $3,750,000. So one maximum-size 7(a) loan at the maximum percentage uses the entire aggregate guaranty limit. A borrower with a $3,000,000 loan outstanding, guaranteed at 75 percent, has $2,250,000 of SBA exposure and $1,500,000 of guaranty room left. Enter $2,000,000 for a new loan and $2,250,000 as existing exposure in the calculator above: the new guaranty is $1,500,000, the aggregate becomes $3,750,000, and the tool reports it as within the limit. Raise the existing figure by one dollar and it flips to over.

"SBA portions", not loan balances

The aggregate test counts the SBA portions, meaning the guaranteed part of each loan, not the full face amount. That is why you enter guaranteed dollars in the second box. A borrower with a conventional bank loan has nothing counted. A borrower with a $1,000,000 7(a) loan guaranteed at 75 percent counts $750,000. The text does not spell out whether the count uses original or outstanding balances; the regulation says "aggregate amount of the SBA portions of all loans," and the practical measurement is for SBA and your lender to confirm.

Affiliates count against you

The aggregate includes the borrower's affiliates as defined in 121.301(f). If you own several businesses that are affiliates under SBA's size rules, a loan to one of them uses room that the others could have used. Our size standards lookup handles the size side; the affiliation definition itself lives in part 121 and is not reproduced here. If you are planning loans for more than one company, ask your lender to count the group.

Passive real estate companies

The final sentence of 120.151 says that "the amount of any loan received by an Eligible Passive Company applies to the loan limit of both the Eligible Passive Company and the Operating Company." If your building is owned by a separate entity that borrows and leases to your operating company, that real estate loan counts against both entities' limits. Splitting a project across the two entities does not double your room. The conditions that make a company an Eligible Passive Company are summarized on our passive company page.

What this section does not say

It does not say a lender will lend $5,000,000 to anyone; approval depends on repayment ability and collateral. It does not list the specific programs the phrase "except as otherwise authorized by statute for a specific program" refers to, and this page does not assume any. And it does not say that smaller loan sizes are guaranteed at 85 percent; that is in 120.210, with $150,000 as the boundary. The quoted limits are as printed in the eCFR on its October 29, 2026 issue date and can change by statute or rulemaking.

Reading the calculator output

The tool reports four lines. The first is the SBA guaranty on the new loan, using the 85 or 75 percent ceiling from 120.210. The second checks the loan against the $5,000,000 single-loan cap. The third adds the new guaranty to the existing SBA portions you entered and compares the total to $3,750,000. The fourth shows how much guaranty room remained before the new loan. If you are over on the third line, the usual routes are a smaller loan, paying down an earlier loan, or a program the statute treats differently, which is what the phrase "except as otherwise authorized by statute for a specific program" leaves open. Your lender will know whether any such program applies.

Sources

• 13 CFR § 120.151, What is the statutory limit for total loans to a Borrower?. Read November 2, 2026.
• 13 CFR § 120.210, What percentage of a loan may SBA guarantee?. Read November 2, 2026.

Text read: Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 13, Part 120, current through the eCFR issue date of October 29, 2026. Dollar figures and percentages on this page are the ones printed in those sections as of that date; SBA can amend the rule and publishes loan-program procedures (such as SOP 50 10) that add detail this page does not cover. Confirm current terms with an SBA-approved lender or at sba.gov. This page summarizes the regulation and does not replace it.