SBA loans for contractors

Name: SBA loans for contractors
Creator: Janover Capital LLC
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Janover Capital editorial team · Data as of June 30, 2026 · Checked November 9, 2026

Short answer

Construction trades received 22,470 SBA loans from FY2024 through June 2026, $8.19B in all. About 43% were lines of credit. Contractors usually borrow for job costs and equipment. Source: SBA's 7(a) loan file.

SBA loans to construction trades since FY2024: 22,470
approved since FY2024: $8.19B
were lines of credit: 43%
went through SBA Express: 52%

What contractors borrow for, and which SBA loan fits

SBA loan options by contractor need
The need	The usual tool	SBA's limits
Payroll and materials between customer payments	SBA Express line of credit	Up to $500,000, 10 years, including any term-out period (SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 17, Para. B.3)
The costs of one signed contract	Contract CAPLine	Up to $5,000,000. Pays direct labor, materials and allocable overhead, not profit or fixed assets (SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 4, Para. A.2)
Trucks, equipment and tools	Equipment term loan	SBA term of 10 years, or up to 15 years if the IRS asset class useful life supports it (SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 17, Para. A.2)
A yard or building you will occupy	504 loan or a 7(a) real estate loan	Up to 25 years, plus any reasonable construction or renovation period on a 7(a) real estate loan (App. 17, Para. A.3)
Buying a competitor or a partner's share	Change of ownership rules	SBA Express can lend up to $500,000; a term loan only (App. 15)

Many contractors hold two tools: a line for job costs and a term loan for equipment. Our contractor financing guide works through job-cost examples, and the payment calculator shows what each would cost.

SBA lending to the construction trades

See your trade below, then check the state pages for the lenders active near you.

These are the 14 largest construction trades on this site, from SBA's own loan file. Half of the loans in each trade were bigger than the median and half were smaller.

SBA loans to the largest construction trades, FY2024 through June 2026
Trade	Loans since FY2024	Median loan	Lines of credit	SBA size limit
Residential Remodelers	3,771	$100,000	49.1%	$45 million
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors	3,111	$152,900	37.3%	$19 million
All Other Specialty Trade Contractors	2,751	$180,000	37.4%	$19 million
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors	2,079	$150,000	45.5%	$19 million
New Single-Family Housing Construction (except For-Sale Builders)	1,156	$150,000	42.9%	$45 million
Commercial and Institutional Building Construction	1,056	$180,000	52.0%	$45 million
Painting and Wall Covering Contractors	1,036	$100,000	42.9%	$19 million
Site Preparation Contractors	988	$100,000	46.1%	$19 million
Roofing Contractors	880	$175,000	45.1%	$19 million
Flooring Contractors	635	$112,500	42.2%	$19 million
Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors	614	$150,000	40.1%	$19 million
Finish Carpentry Contractors	613	$100,000	48.5%	$19 million
Drywall and Insulation Contractors	494	$150,000	43.1%	$19 million
Other Building Finishing Contractors	489	$200,000	35.4%	$19 million

The size limit is the most a business can average in annual receipts and still count as small for that trade (13 CFR 121.201). The 28 trades with their own pages are listed on the Industries page.

Across all 28 trades, 43% of loans since FY2024 were lines of credit and 52% went through SBA Express. Median loans ranged from $52,500 to $250,000 across the 28 trades. Median starting rates ran from 10.12% to 10.75%. Those are rates at approval, not today's rates.

The share charged offThe lender wrote the loan off as a loss because it was not being repaid. varies widely by trade. Among FY2020 to FY2022 loans, through June 2026, it ranged from fewer than 5 of 170 loans for other heavy and civil engineering construction to 7.7% for residential remodelers (2,089 loans). A charge-off rate counts loans that went bad. It cannot show approval odds.

Lenders with the most construction loans

Counts add up each lender's appearances in the top five for each trade, so a lender outside a trade's top five is not counted there. Use the Lender Finder for your state and industry.

What lenders look at for a contractor

SBA treats business cash flow as the primary source of repayment. A lender must decline a loan when its analysis shows no reasonable assurance of repayment from cash flow (SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. C). Beyond that, expect these questions. They vary by lender.

Job-cost records and a work-in-progress schedule that ties to your financial statements
Your backlog of signed work and how it is billed, including retainage
How many customers make up most of your revenue
Licenses, insurance and any bonding capacity
A list of trucks and equipment, with what you owe on them

CollateralProperty a lender can take and sell if a loan is not repaid. rules are the same as for any SBA Express loan. Lenders are not required to take collateral on loans of $50,000 or less. Above that, the lender may use its own collateral policies for similar non-SBA loans (SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 19, Para. B.3). Owners of 20% or more of the business must give a personal guaranteeYour promise to repay the loan yourself if the business cannot. (Sec. A, Ch. 5, Para. A.1).

Common questions about SBA loans for contractors

Can a contractor get an SBA Express loan with no collateral?

At or below $50,000, the lender is not required to take collateral (SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 19, Para. B.3). Above that amount, the lender may use its own collateral policies for similar non-SBA loans.

Are contractors eligible for SBA loans?

Generally yes, if the business operates for profit in the United States and is small by SBA's size standard for its trade (13 CFR 120.100; 13 CFR 121.201). Check your trade with the Am I small tool. A business that builds to sell, rather than to contract, should ask about the Builders CAPLine (SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 4).

What is the Contract CAPLine for?

It finances the direct labor, materials and allocable overhead of specific contracts. It cannot pay for profit, permanent working capital, fixed assets or existing debt. It also cannot finance a contract where significant work has already begun (SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 4, Para. A.2).

Can SBA Express money pay off a merchant cash advance?

Only in narrow cases: an advance is eligible for refinancing only if the agreement has been converted to a term loan, has amortized for at least 24 months and no new agreements followed; an active agreement is not eligible (SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 14, Para. A.3). Use the true cost calculator and Can SBA refinance this? before you sign anything.

Do I need to be in business for a certain time?

SBA sets no minimum time in business for an SBA Express loan, so each lender sets its own. Startups were 9.7% of SBA Express loans since FY2024.

How to read this

Counts come from SBA's 7(a) loan-level data release, as of June 30, 2026. The file lists loans SBA approved. It does not list declined applications, so it cannot show approval odds. We do not publish any figure built on fewer than 5 loans. Industry is the NAICS code recorded on each loan. Trades here are the construction NAICS codes (sector 23) with 100 or more loans since FY2020, the ones with their own page. How we build these pages.

Sources

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Cite this page: SBA loans for contractors. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-loans-for-contractors/

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