Break Bread LendingSBA Loans and Business Funding (888) 818-3781
SBA debt refinance · Full breakdown
The SBA lets established businesses roll conventional loans and business credit card balances into a single 7(a) loan, on one condition set that never changes: the debt is business debt, the payments are current, and the new payment comes in at least 10 percent below the old ones. We verify all three before your file goes anywhere.
This page is part of our SBA loans overview. The rules in brief are also in our blog: SBA refinance rules, stated plainly.
The rules
Rule 1
The debt must be in the business's name and used for business purposes. Personal debt doesn't roll in, no matter how it was spent.
Rule 2
The debts must be current, with a clean recent payment history. Twelve months of on-time payments is the record underwriters look for.
Rule 3
The new SBA payment must be at least 10 percent below the combined payments it replaces. That's the SBA's test, and we run the math before submission.
Rule 4
Business cash flow must cover the new payment: 1.10x for loans of $350,000 or less, 1.15x above that, under current SBA rules.
Rule 5
Business credit card balances are eligible refinance debt when they're business-purpose and documented. High-rate card debt is often where the 10 percent test is easiest to clear.
Rule 6
On a 10-year term there's no prepayment penalty, so paying the loan down faster never costs you extra.
The exception
Since June 1, 2025, SBA loans can't be used to refinance merchant cash advances. Not partially, not with the right packaging: the rule is categorical, and any operator who tells you otherwise is selling you a decline. We wrote the full explanation in Can an SBA loan refinance an MCA?
What works for MCA debt instead is a term loan built for consolidation, one monthly payment over years. That's a different product with different rules, and our term loan page covers it. Owners who clear their advances that way, keep twelve months of clean payments, and build coverage often become SBA candidates on the next round. Sequencing is the strategy.
How the deal moved
Send us the debts: balances, payments, and statements. We run the 10 percent test and the coverage test and tell you plainly whether the file clears both.
Tax returns, financials, payoff figures, and twelve months of payment history, assembled the way an underwriter verifies a refinance.
Refinance appetite differs by lender. Your file goes to a partner that funds debt refinances, and we work their questions to a decision.
The old debts are paid off at closing and replaced by a single monthly payment. Our fee is paid by the lending partner. You never pay us.
Start the short application, or book the free 20-minute Funding Strategy Call and get a straight answer on fit. Both cost nothing, and neither obliges you to anything.
Break Bread Lending, in business since 2022. (888) 818-3781.
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The comparison
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The full FAQ
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