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December 24, 2025
Deferred Payments in SBA-Backed Acquisitions
Deferred payments in SBA-backed acquisitions most often show up as seller notes that help bridge the gap between the SBA loan proceeds and the purchase price—sometimes allowing a buyer to bring as little as 5% cash down if the seller note is structured to satisfy SBA equity rules. The tradeoff is compliance and structure: the note must be subordinate to the SBA lender and, if used as part of equity, typically requires full standby for the life of the SBA loan—so buyers need to model the “payment shock” risk when deferred obligations eventually turn on.
