Industry News
Curated articles on business financing and entrepreneurship.
Small Businesses Now Eligible for $10 Million in SBA Financing
The SBA announced that small business borrowers may now combine their 7(a) and 504 loans for a combined total of up to $10 million in SBA-backed financing — doubling the previous $5 million cumulative limit, which had not been raised in over a decade. The policy, effective July 4, 2026, is the largest financing opportunity in SBA history, with special provisions allowing small manufacturers to access up to $5 million through 7(a) on top of unlimited 504 project loans.
Read article →SBIR and STTR Reauthorization and the Future of Small Business Innovation
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act on March 3, 2026, reauthorizing SBIR and STTR programs through FY 2031 — ending a six-month lapse that had frozen new solicitations and awards since programs expired September 30, 2025. The bipartisan legislation introduces a new Strategic Breakthrough Award of up to $30 million, tightens foreign investment security reviews, and mandates improved data collection across the ~$6 billion annually distributed across 11 federal agencies.
Read article →Merchant Cash Advances Piling Up in Small Business Bankruptcies
MCA funders are increasingly appearing as major creditors in small business bankruptcy filings, with cases in Florida and Texas surging past 230 filings in 2024, as businesses stack multiple advances at effective APRs of 100%–200% as a "final Hail Mary" before collapse. Courts are increasingly reclassifying MCAs as loans subject to usury laws, with a February 2026 Houston ruling allowing a trustee to pursue usury violations against an MCA funder — creating unfavorable precedent for the largely unregulated industry.
Read article →CDFI Fund Opens the FY 2026 Small Dollar Loan Program Funding Round
The U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund launched three major FY 2026 funding rounds on June 30, 2026, including the Small Dollar Loan Program — designed to expand small business access to financial institutions as alternatives to high-cost predatory lending — along with the Bank Enterprise Award and CDFI Bond Guarantee Programs. These programs collectively channel hundreds of millions of dollars through certified CDFIs to underserved communities and small businesses that lack access to conventional credit markets.
Read article →Business Tax Relief: Credits, Deductions, and Debt Options Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), signed July 4, 2025, represents the most consequential business tax overhaul since the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — permanently restoring 100% bonus depreciation, making the 20% QBI pass-through deduction permanent, reinstating immediate domestic R&D expensing, and raising Section 179 expensing limits to $2.5 million for 2025. Two additional pending bills — H.R. 3275 proposing an 18% corporate rate for small businesses and H.R. 8415 raising the QBI deduction to 23% — are also advancing through the 119th Congress.
Read article →SBA Opens $50M Manufacturing Grant and Adds 90% Made In America Loan Guarantee
The SBA launched a $50 million Entrepreneurship to Growth (E2G) manufacturing grant alongside a 90% loan guarantee for businesses with eligible manufacturing NAICS codes. Fee waivers and the enhanced guarantees run through fiscal year-end September 30, giving small manufacturers a narrow window to lock in savings.
Read article →Tax Overhaul Will Shake Up Credits for Businesses in 2026
Following a major 2025 tax-and-spending bill, small business owners face a broad set of new and expanded tax credits in 2026, including enhanced R&D incentives, energy provisions, and workforce programs. These dollar-for-dollar credits directly reduce federal tax liability and apply across industries from tech to manufacturing.
Read article →CDFI Fund Opens $9M Small Dollar Loan Program Round for Community Lenders
The CDFI Fund opened its FY 2026 Small Dollar Loan Program funding round on June 30, making up to $9 million available to community-based lenders serving rural, tribal, and faith-rooted communities. Eligible lenders have until July 30 to apply, with the program aimed at expanding access to affordable alternatives to high-cost small dollar lending.
Read article →7 New MCA Regulations Small Businesses Need to Know in 2026
Merchant cash advance (MCA) regulation has expanded significantly in 2026, with New York's Commercial Financing Disclosure Law now fully enforced alongside California's SB 1235 and ongoing FTC industry scrutiny. Multiple additional states are passing similar merchant-protective frameworks, raising compliance costs for funders and giving business owners stronger legal footing to challenge abusive MCA terms.
Read article →SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Adds Mandatory Foreign Ownership Disclosure for All Applicants
The April 2026 reauthorization of the SBIR/STTR programs introduced mandatory foreign ownership, control, and influence (FOCI) disclosure for all applicants — affecting any small business with foreign investors, board members, or significant foreign-national employees. Phase I award amounts remain unchanged (up to $323,090 at NIH), with the program collectively representing over $4 billion annually in non-dilutive R&D funding for small businesses.
Read article →How S.3971 Changes SBIR and STTR in 2026
President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (S.3971) on April 13, 2026, reauthorizing the SBIR and STTR programs through September 30, 2031 after a six-month funding lapse. The sweeping overhaul expands national security screening, creates a new class of large-scale Phase II awards, and introduces proposal submission limits — the most significant structural reforms to the $4B+ annual R&D grant programs in over a decade.
Read article →Small Business Grants 2026: SBIR, SBA, EDA & State Guide
Updated June 2026, this guide confirms the primary federal grant pathways for small businesses are SBIR/STTR (over $4B annually in R&D funding), EDA grants ($100K–$10M for businesses in economically distressed areas), and USDA Rural Business Development Grants (up to $1M for rural businesses under 50 employees). CDFI Fund grants also provide financial assistance to Community Development Financial Institutions that in turn serve minority and underserved small businesses.
Read article →SBA Loan Rules Change June 1 - Strong Business Credit Now Non-Negotiable
The SBA announced sweeping updates to its 7(a) and 504 loan programs via the new SOP 50 10 8, raising the minimum FICO SBSS score from 155 to 165 for loans under $350,000 and tightening underwriting standards. The updated rules also impose new citizenship eligibility requirements and a personal resources test for applicants, shifting more verification responsibility onto participating lenders.
Read article →House Small Business Leaders Eye Short-Term Fix to Fund Tech Programs
House Small Business Committee Chair Roger Williams introduced a bipartisan bill to extend the SBIR and STTR programs for one year, as both were set to expire on September 30, 2025. The one-year extension is a stopgap while Congress works toward long-term reauthorization of programs that distribute over $4 billion annually to small R&D-focused businesses.
Read article →Navigating the New Tax Law: What Small Businesses Need to Know
The newly enacted "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" permanently extends the 20% Qualified Business Income deduction for pass-through entities, doubles the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million, and allows immediate domestic R&E expense deductions for smaller businesses. Small business owners can apply many of these enhanced deductions retroactively to expenses dating back to January 20, 2025, representing the most significant small business tax reform in years.
Read article →Texas Enacts New Commercial Sales-Based Financing Bill Restricting Automatic Debits
Texas H.B. 700 imposes new regulatory requirements on providers and brokers of commercial sales-based financing including merchant cash advances, with strict restrictions on automatic debit practices. The law is part of a growing national trend - alongside Louisiana's new MCA disclosure law - of states moving to regulate the previously unregulated MCA sector to protect small businesses from predatory practices.
Read article →CDFI Fund Announces First Awards for 2025: 56 Organizations to Receive $8.8 Million
The U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund distributed nearly $8.8 million in Technical Assistance grants to 56 CDFIs across the country to strengthen their capacity to serve low-income communities and underserved markets. This follows the FY 2025 CDFI Program funding round, which planned approximately $348 million in total awards including $155M in Financial and TA Awards, $100M for housing production, and $24M for healthy food financing initiatives.
Read article →Agencies Award $179B to Small Firms in 2025, Down From 2024
Federal agencies awarded 28% of all prime contracts — totaling $179 billion — to small businesses in FY2025, surpassing the 23% governmentwide goal. However, that figure represents a dip from the record $183.5 billion awarded in 2024, even as total federal procurement spending rose to $793 billion.
Read article →SBA Delivers First MARC Loans to Support Manufacturers
The SBA approved its first round of 7(a) Manufacturers' Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) Loans, delivering $3.5 million in working capital to four small manufacturers across the country. The MARC program — launched October 2025 — is the SBA's first-ever loan product built exclusively for manufacturers, offering revolving credit lines and term loans up to $5 million.
Read article →Navigating the New Tax Law: What Small Businesses Need to Know
The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" signed into law on July 4, 2025 introduced sweeping tax reforms benefiting small businesses, including making the 20% QBI deduction permanent (raised to 23% in 2026) and restoring 100% bonus depreciation on qualifying assets. The law also increases the Section 179 expensing cap to $2.5 million and allows immediate full deduction of domestic R&E expenses.
Read article →Merchant Cash Advance News: What's Happening in 2026
The MCA market faces intensified regulatory scrutiny in 2026, with Illinois and New Jersey joining six other states in requiring MCA funders to disclose a standardized APR-equivalent and total repayment amount before signing. The FTC and multiple state attorneys general are also pressing legal action against MCA funders that use confessions of judgment for aggressive collections.
Read article →Congress Revives SBIR/STTR Programs, Rewriting the Rules for Small Business Innovation Funding
President Trump signed the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act on April 13, 2026, reauthorizing the SBIR and STTR programs through September 30, 2031 and ending a six-month funding lapse that had frozen approximately $6 billion in federal R&D dollars for small businesses. The new law introduces caps on "SBIR mill" companies, a new Strategic Breakthrough Allocation allowing single awards up to $30 million, and strengthened foreign ownership scrutiny.
Read article →7 Grants For Small Businesses You Can Apply For Today
This Forbes article highlights seven actively open grant opportunities that small business owners — particularly entrepreneurs of color — can apply for immediately, covering programs with imminent deadlines. It serves as a practical, time-sensitive funding guide navigating government and private grant programs available in mid-2025.
Read article →New Bill Brings Major Incentives for Innovation: R&D Tax Credit Updates
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 4, 2025, restores full immediate expensing of domestic R&D costs and adds flexible 5- or 10-year amortization options for businesses. Small businesses under $31M in revenue can retroactively amend 2022–2024 tax returns to reclaim deductions — but must act before July 4, 2026.
Read article →Stripe Capital Originated 81,000 MCAs and Business Loans in 2025
Stripe Capital originated 81,000 merchant cash advances and business loans throughout 2025, with total funding estimated at $800M–$1.2B based on comparable industry data. A Stripe-commissioned study found businesses receiving Capital financing grew 27 percentage points faster over the following year than those that did not.
Read article →SBIR/STTR Program 2025 News and Updates
A comprehensive recap of turbulent disruptions to SBIR/STTR programs in 2025: federal funding freeze, mass grant terminations at NIH and NSF, delayed solicitations, and a proposed 15% indirect cost rate cap temporarily blocked by federal courts. The article also covers two competing reauthorization bills — the INNOVATE Act and the SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act — with guidance for small businesses on applying competitively despite uncertainty.
Read article →CDFI Fund Opens 2026 Funding Rounds
The CDFI Fund opened 2026 application rounds for multiple programs including the Bank Enterprise Award Program ($40M), Small Dollar Loan Program ($9M), and CDFI Bond Guarantee Program (up to $500M), with deadlines running through late July. The announcement comes amid broader turbulence: a Treasury review of certified institutions, delayed 2025 fund releases, and a presidential budget proposing $204.5M in cuts to the program.
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