The SBA is raising the minimum size for engineering, construction and other companies to be classified as “small”. By doing so, it’s expected the number of firms eligible for SBA Loans and set-aside contracts will increase.
The thresholds will rise by about 8% from the current levels. The new standards will take effect on August 19th. According the the article on www.enr.com , the increases are an adjustment to account for inflation since it’s last inflation-related increase back in 2014. The new standards come soon after SBA issued a proposal to allow small businesses to calculate their average receipts over five years, compared to the current three year average. SBA estimates that the higher standards will allow 90,000 additional companies to qualify as small businesses and could result in up to $750 million more in federal small-business contracts, plus as many as 120 more small-business loans totaling about $65 million. For construction firms that fall into the various buildings construction and heavy and civil engineering construction sub-categories, the new threshold will be set at average annual receipts of $39.5 million. That’s a hike of $3 million, or 8.2%, from the current level.
For more details, read the full article HERE
