On September 3, 2026, the SBA issued Information Notice 5000-881796, setting the fee schedule for 504 loans in fiscal year 2027 — the government's fiscal year running October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The headline change: the full fee waiver that applied only to manufacturers in FY2026 now also covers rural businesses, food-supply-chain businesses, and both 504 debt-refinance programs. If your business falls into one of those categories and you're weighing a 504 loan for commercial real estate or equipment, the timing of your application matters.
What actually changed
In FY2026 (October 2025 through September 2026), the SBA waived 504 loan fees for one group: small manufacturers, defined as businesses with a primary NAICS code in sectors 31, 32, or 33. That's the entirety of what News Release 25-80 announced back in September 2025 — no mention of rural businesses, food-supply-chain businesses, or the refinance programs.
The new FY2027 notice expands the waiver to four categories of 504 borrowers:
- Manufacturers (NAICS Sectors 31–33) — the same group covered in FY2026
- Food-supply-chain businesses — a specific list of NAICS codes covering categories like grain, oilseed, and livestock farming, grocery and supermarket retail, farm-product wholesale distribution and warehousing, and refrigerated/frozen trucking of farm and grain products
- Businesses located in a rural area
- Loans made under either the 504 Debt Refinance With Expansion option or the 504 Debt Refinance Without Expansion Program
For loans in any of those categories, approved between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027, both the upfront guaranty fee and the annual service fee are waived entirely.
What it's worth in dollars
Outside those categories, the standard FY2027 504 fees are:
- Upfront guaranty fee: 0.50% of the loan amount
- Annual service fee: 0.203% of the outstanding balance, charged yearly
(For 504 Debt Refinance Without Expansion loans that don't go to a manufacturer, the annual service fee is very slightly higher — 0.204% — because that specific refinance track still carries a small subsidy fee under federal law even though its zero-subsidy requirement was repealed.)
To put those numbers in context: on a $500,000 504 debenture, the standard upfront guaranty fee alone runs about $2,500, plus roughly $1,015 in the first year's annual service fee on the full outstanding balance (declining each year as the loan amortizes). On a $2,000,000 debenture, that's about $10,000 upfront plus roughly $4,060 in year-one service fees. For a qualifying rural, food-supply-chain, or manufacturing borrower — or anyone using either debt-refinance program — all of that is waived, on top of whatever a bank or CDC otherwise charges in closing costs.
Who this affects in practice
This doesn't expand what the 504 program can finance — it's still fixed-rate, long-term financing for owner-occupied commercial real estate and major equipment, structured through a bank first mortgage plus a CDC-issued debenture. What changed is who avoids paying SBA's own fees on top of that.
If you're a small manufacturer, nothing changes for you between FY2026 and FY2027 — you were already covered. If you're a food-supply-chain business (the notice's NAICS list runs from farming and grain-handling through food retail, food manufacturing, and refrigerated trucking) or a business located in a rural area, you're newly eligible starting with loans approved on or after October 1, 2026. And if you're refinancing existing debt through either 504 Debt Refinance program, the waiver now applies to you regardless of industry.
The practical takeaway: if your 504 loan is close to being approved and you fall into one of the newly eligible categories, it's worth confirming with your CDC or lender whether your loan number will land before or after October 1 — that date is what determines which fee schedule applies, not the date you first applied.
Where ClearValue fits
ClearValue Lending is a small business funding platform, not the SBA and not a CDC or direct lender — we route 504 financing applications to lender partners who work within SBA's current rules, including whichever fee schedule applies to your loan at approval. If you're not sure whether your business qualifies as "rural" or falls into one of the food-supply-chain NAICS codes under this notice, that's worth confirming with your CDC or lender directly, since eligibility is defined by SBA's own criteria, not by us.
For the fundamentals of how a 504 loan is structured — the 50/40/10 split between a bank loan, CDC debenture, and your down payment — see our guide to the SBA 504 loan. If you're ready to see what you qualify for, start an application and we'll route your file to a lender partner that fits.
This content is educational and does not constitute financial or legal advice. The fee schedule described above applies to SBA 504 loans approved between October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2027, per SBA Information Notice 5000-881796. Fee eligibility depends on SBA's own criteria (NAICS code, rural-area designation, or loan program) — confirm your business's specific eligibility with your CDC or lender before applying. ClearValue Lending is a funding platform, not a lender, broker, or financial advisor.