Of the many forms you can expect to complete when applying for an SBA loan, SBA Form 413—also referred to as the “SBA personal financial statement”—is one of the most essential. This form factors into how the SBA determines your ability to repay an additional debt and, by extension, your eligibility for an SBA loan.

Although at first glance, SBA Form 413 may seem intimidating, it becomes much more manageable when you break it up into individual steps.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the SBA personal financial statement—explaining what is needed for each section and ultimately, how to complete the form for your SBA loan application.

SBA Form 413, also called the “personal financial statement,” is a required document in applying for most of the SBA loan programs. In short, the SBA uses this form to evaluate your personal finances and determine your ability to repay a potential loan.

At the top of Form 413, the SBA writes: “SBA uses the information required by this Form 413 as one of a number of data sources in analyzing the repayment ability and creditworthiness of an application for an SBA guaranteed 7(a) or 504 loan or, with respect to a surety bond, to assist in recovery in the event that the contractor defaults on the contract.”

So, if you’re applying for a business loan, you might be wondering why the SBA is interested in your personal finances.

According to Alex Goldklang, a strategic sales lead at Fundera, “The SBA needs to look at your business’s debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) as well as your global DSCR, and your personal finances factor into your global DSCR. To be approved for an SBA loan, you need to pass both.”

Put simply, these metrics indicate how well a business owner can service their debt. Goldklang says that the best way for the SBA to calculate that ability is by evaluating an applicant’s monthly debt obligations.

Along these lines, although it’s important to accurately report all of your liabilities and assets on your SBA personal financial statement, you’ll also want to take care in providing information on any installment accounts that you pay monthly—like car loans, student debt, and your rent or mortgage payments.

Most SBA loan programs—including the 7(a) loan and 504/CDC loan, two of the agency’s most popular loan programs—require that you complete SBA Form 413 as part of your application.

Additionally, depending on your business entity, the following individuals will also need to fill out and submit their own versions of the SBA personal financial statement:

• Each proprietor

• Each limited partner with 20% or more interest and each general partner

• Each stockholder owning 20% or more of voting stock

• Any guarantor of the loan

It’s important to note that if you’re married and file a joint tax return, your spouse will need to be included on SBA Form 413. Similarly, any applicable spouse from the list above will also need to sign off on their versions of Form 413.

All in all, completing an SBA loan application is extremely time-consuming. Therefore, to help streamline the process, you’ll want to gather supplementary documentation and information ahead of time, especially when filling out SBA Form 413.

On the whole, the SBA won’t necessarily request photocopies of these documents, but you can consult these documents to accurately provide current valuations and additional details about all your relevant assets and liabilities. This being said, you’ll want to ensure that any documents you consult—and will potentially need to provide—should be dated within 30 days of your listed “as of” date (which we’ll explain below).

With this in mind, here are some of the documents you’ll want to gather ahead of time to help you fill out the SBA personal financial statement:

• Personal checking and savings account statements

• IRA statements and statements from other retirement accounts

• Life insurance documents

• Documents concerning any personal investments such as stocks or bonds

• Pay stubs showing your annual salary

• Documents showing any additional income information

• General market data about your cars, homes, and other personally owned property

• Mortgage statements, auto loan statements, credit card statements, and documentation of any other personal debt

As we’ll do in our steps below, you’ll want to review SBA Form 413 before you start filling it out. This way, you’ll know exactly what information you’ll need to provide, and the supporting documents you might need to consult to fill in this personal financial statement.

With all of this background information in mind, let’s start breaking down exactly how to complete SBA Form 413.

The first step to complete SBA Form 413 (shown below) is the most straightforward—you’ll just need to provide your personal contact information. If you’re married and will be providing information about your spouse’s personal financial information, you’ll want to include their name in this field as well.

In the middle of this part of the form, toward the top, you’ll see a field called “As of.” This field does not necessarily refer to the current date—rather, this conveys to the SBA the date up to which your provided information is accurate. The “As of” field is especially important with regard to valuations, which need to be as up-to-date as possible.

Therefore, it’s best practice to enter the last day of the month preceding the month in which you’re applying (e.g. September 30 if you’re applying in October). You’ll also want to keep in mind that your SBA Form 413 needs to be dated within 90 days of your business loan application.

After you’ve completed the basic information at the top of your SBA personal financial statement, you’ll move along to the “Assets” section, shown below.

In filling in this section, you’ll add the following pieces of information, rounding your valuations to the nearest dollar amount.

• Cash on hand and in banks: The amount in your and your spouse’s checking accounts.

• Savings accounts: Include the amount in any money market and CD accounts too.

• Retirement accounts: The value of your IRA or any other retirement accounts in your name, as well as your spouse’s name (if applicable).

• Accounts and notes receivable: You’ll only need to fill this out if you’ve personally loaned money and that amount is still owed to you.

• Life insurance—cash surrender value only: If your life insurance has a cash payout, list the dollar amount you would receive if you canceled it. This only applies to whole life insurance policies, not term life insurance. You’ll describe this in detail in section 8.

• Stocks and bonds: List the current value of all stocks and bonds owned by you and your spouse.

• Real estate: List the current fair market value of all commercial or residential real estate you and your spouse own. You’ll describe this in detail in section 4.

• Automobile: The current fair market value of all cars, boats, planes, or other automobiles you and your spouse own (not the automobiles you’re leasing).

• Other personal property: Estimate the combined worth of all the valuable material items you own and could sell for cash but that don’t fall into any of the above categories. (Think your home, jewelry, electronics, and antiques.) You’ll describe this further in section 5.

• Other assets: Estimate the value of any other assets you own that don’t fall into the above categories, including the value of your interest or equity in your business. It’s best to contract a professional valuation for this; but if that’s not possible, you’ll want to undervalue your estimate to avoid fraud charges. You’ll also describe this in detail in section 5.

• Total: Add up the total value of your assets.

Next, on the right-hand side of the “assets” section, you’ll find the liabilities box. Here, the same rules apply as they do for your assets—you’ll list the liabilities on your books as an individual (separate from your business’s), and if you’re married, you’ll include the liabilities you hold jointly with your spouse.

Again, in this section of SBA Form 413, you’ll round your valuations up to the nearest dollar amount.

• Accounts payable: Essentially, this field refers to any debts you owe to another party other than banks, usually on a short-term basis (i.e. 30, 60, or 90 days). Most applicants can leave this section blank.

• Notes payable to banks and others: This is where you’ll list all outstanding balances on your personal credit cards, lines of credit, and business installment loans. You’ll describe this information further in section 2.

• Automobile installment account: Provide the total and monthly payment amount of your balance for any outstanding automobile loans.

• Other installment accounts: List the total and monthly payment amount of any outstanding personal installment loans on your books, including student and personal loans.

• Loan against life insurance: Provide the balance of any loans you’ve taken out for which you’ve pledged your life insurance policy as collateral (only if it was whole life insurance).

• Mortgages on real estate: The balance of mortgages on your owned real estate. You’ll describe this in detail in section 4.

• Unpaid taxes: List any due but unpaid taxes since your most recent filed tax return. You’ll describe this further in section 6.

• Other liabilities: Provide the total amount of any other outstanding debt not listed in the previous sections. Most applicants don’t have any additional liabilities; but if you do, you can describe them in detail in section 7.

• Total liabilities: Add up the total amount of your liabilities.

• Net worth: Subtract your total liabilities from your total assets to determine your net worth.

• Total: Add your “Total Liabilities” and your “Net Worth.” This value should be equal to your total assets.

Once you’ve filled in the assets and the liabilities sections, you’ll move on to the final piece of page 1 of SBA Form 413. This part, called “section 1,” will ask for your source of income and contingent liabilities, as shown in the image below.

Here, you’ll fill in the following:

• Salary: Provide your and your spouse’s total annual salaries, as reported on your tax return.

• Net investment income: List any income you earn as dividends and interest from your investments.

• Real estate income: Provide the net income you receive from any of your owned real estate properties, i.e. through sale, lease, or rental. Be sure to list your net income, or the income you earn after expenses.

• Other income: Provide the total amount of any income received through venues not listed above. This can include alimony, child support, pension, social security, etc. It’s important to note, however, that you should not include alimony or child support payments if you don’t want to have it counted toward total income. You’ll describe the sources of this income in the box below labeled “description of other income in section 1.”

Contingent liabilities refer to the debts you’re responsible for if certain conditions occur. You’ll estimate the amounts of your contingent liabilities if those conditions are likely to occur.

• As endorser or co-maker: The total balance of any outstanding debts for which you or your spouse acted as guarantor or co-signer.

• Legal claims and judgments: The total amount you might owe for any pending legal claims or judgments.

• Provision for federal income tax: The amount of money you’re setting aside to pay federal taxes for an expected increase in income due to pending litigation, dispute, or asset sale.

• Other special debt: The total amount of any other outstanding contingent debts not listed above.

Next, you’ll fill in section 2 by further explaining all the debts listed as your Notes Payable, as you entered in the Liabilities column above. You should use the table provided (as shown below), and include a separate sheet if you need more space. If you include attachments, you’ll want to make sure they’re identified as part of your SBA personal financial statement and signed.

This being said, you’ll include the following details per debt for this section:

• Name and address of the noteholder: The name and address of your creditor.

• Original balance: The balance owed when the credit was first established. This will be $0 for credit cards and lines of credit or the total amount of the loan for installment loans.

• Current balance: The amount you currently owe.

• Payment amount: The amount you pay for this debt each month. If it’s an installment loan, list your monthly repayment amount. If it’s a credit card or line of credit, you’ll list “varies.”

• Frequency: How often you pay your loan bills, i.e. monthly or weekly.

• How secured or endorsed/type of collateral: Explain the type of collateral you pledged to secure your loan. If it was unsecured (as most credit cards are), list “unsecured.”

After you’ve completed section 2, you’ll move on to section 3. Just as you did for your Notes Payable, in section 3 you’ll provide more detail on every stock and bond you and your spouse own, as listed in the Assets column. Again, you can attach as many additional sheets as you need as long as they’re identified as part of SBA Form 413 and are signed.

As shown in the table below, you’ll include the following details for every stock and bond you own:

• Number of shares: The number you own.

• Name of securities: The name of this security.

• Cost: Its original cost.

• Market value quotation/exchange: Its current market value.

• Date of quotation/exchange: The date you calculated its current value.

• Total value: Your number of shares multiplied by its current value.

Once you’ve finished section 3, you’ll continue to section 4 (shown below), which asks for your real estate owned. Here, you’ll explain in greater detail all the property you own, as listed in your Assets and Liabilities.

• Type of real estate: This may be your primary residence, an investment property, or an undeveloped lot.

• Address: The property’s address.

• Date purchased: The date listed on your mortgage.

• Original cost: The property’s purchase price.

• Present market value: Ask your broker for a current valuation of the property.

• Name and address of mortgage holder: The name and address of the bank that holds your mortgage.

• Mortgage account number: Find this number on your mortgage statement.

• Mortgage balance: The amount you still owe on your mortgage.

• Amount of payment per month or year: The amount of your monthly or yearly mortgage bill. If you’ve paid off your mortgage, list “N/A.”

• Status of mortgage: Write “current,” “foreclosure,” or “paid in full.”

Next, you’ll complete sections 5 through 8 on this essential SBA form. As you’ll see below, these sections are all description-based.

Here, you have the opportunity to go into greater detail about the “Other Personal Property” and “Other Assets” you listed in the Assets column, which will include the value of your stake in the business.

You’ll want to provide as much detail as possible about these items, and you should be prepared to provide documentation to prove their value, if possible. This being said, you may not have a receipt for every piece of property that applies here, like your grandmother’s diamond necklace, for example, and that’s OK. You should just try to make an educated guess as to how much you’d get if you sold your valuables—you shouldn’t, of course, intentionally undervalue or overvalue anything.

If you’ve pledged any of these assets as collateral to secure another type of loan, you’ll need to provide details about that loan, as well. You can use the Notes Payable section as a guide for what information to include. Additionally, if there’s a lien on any of these assets, you’ll need to provide the name and address of the lienholder, the amount of the lien, and the terms and payment. If the loan is delinquent, you’ll need to explain the circumstances of that delinquency.

In section 6, you’ll provide additional information about any unpaid taxes you have, as you specified in the Liabilities section. If you still owe taxes to your state or local government, you can still be eligible for an SBA loan—you just need to prove that you’re on a repayment plan. Here, therefore, you’ll explain to whom you owe taxes, when they’re due, the amount you owe, and whether any of your assets have a tax lien attached.

Once you’ve completed section 6, you’ll move on to the third page of SBA Form 413, starting with section 7. In this section, you’ll explain any “Other Liabilities” you listed in the Liabilities column, if you have them. These are the liabilities that don’t quite fit into the provided categories, such as debts owed to foreign governments or as a result of private agreements. Here, you should provide details such as the type of debt it is, to whom you owe payments, how much you owe, and your repayment plan.

Finally, section 8 will be the last section you need to fill in to complete the main portions of the SBA personal financial statement. In this section, you’ll explain all life insurance policies you hold, including the death benefit, cash surrender value (if applicable), the names of your beneficiaries, and the name of your life insurance company.

At this point, the hardest pieces of SBA Form 413 are complete. Now, you’ll want to thoroughly review all of the information you’ve provided on this form.

You’ll want to make sure, to the best of your ability, that all of the information you’ve completed is accurate—after all, this statement will be used to determine your loan eligibility. Plus, if you knowingly make false statements on this form, you could be subject to criminal prosecution.

This being said, it may be helpful to ask a third party—like your business attorney, accountant, or loan specialist—to review the form before you complete the final steps. Having a second, or even third, pair of eyes on this document will help you ensure that everything is filled in completely and correctly and, hopefully, will allow you to catch mistakes (if there are any) ahead of time.

Once you’ve reviewed the information included in your SBA personal financial statement, you’ve reached the last step. Before completing the “certification,” however, you’ll want to make sure you read through the information provided by the SBA on pages three through six of the form.

On these pages, the SBA outlines the penalty for knowingly false statements, as well as statements required by law. If you have any questions about what’s written on these pages, you’ll want to consult your business attorney for clarification.

This being said, after reviewing this information, you’ll want to return to the certification section, where you’ll provide your signature, printed name, date, and social security number. Your spouse will also complete this information for themselves as well.

Many business owners are intimidated by the prospect of filling out their SBA personal financial statements. It can be hard to know which of your assets and debts you should include, which you should leave out, how best to reach their values, and exactly how granular to get in your descriptions.

But Goldklang insists that the process isn’t as intense as it might seem:

“I tell people not to drive themselves crazy here. A lot of people think of their businesses as an extension of themselves or vice versa, and I admire that. But what I tell business owners when I hear their anxiety about the PFS is that this is your opportunity to tell us about your personal assets and liabilities—not your business’s.

So, that car you told me about—is the business paying that off, or are you? Put simply, that’s how you should fill out this form. If you think about it as your item, then put it on the form. If you think of it as the business’s debt, then leave it off.”

This being said, when in doubt, you should be transparent. Ultimately, the SBA needs accurate information to make an informed lending decision. If you’re concerned about a particular debt, you should try to provide as many details as possible to back up the numbers.

One of the greatest advantages of working with a loan specialist on your SBA application, therefore, is that they can advocate for you and help your lender look past those cut-and-dry numbers to understand aspects of your application that need additional explanation.

Plus, if this doesn’t work, then your loan expert can help you come up with an alternative plan if excessive personal debts are precluding your loan eligibility right now, so you can increase your chances of approval in the future.

The most recent wave of the Black Lives Matter movement has amplified what Black people in America have known for centuries: Systemic racism is alive and well in America. That deep-seated, foundational racism touches every aspect of this country’s inner workings, including when it comes to business funding.

Despite the fact that Black women are starting businesses at the fastest rate among any racial group and that the number of Black female-owned businesses in America has increased by 164% since 2007, they remain chronically underfunded. As Fundera’s own report on the racial funding gap details, lending institutions consistently practice racial and gender-based biases against otherwise qualified applicants.

Seeking business grants for Black women specifically (or grants for women, minority, or Black entrepreneurs more broadly) can help you secure the business funding that a traditional, typically discriminatory lending institution may have denied you previously. With that in mind, we’ve gathered a list of some of the best business grants, investment opportunities, and resource hubs for Black women business owners.

While there aren’t a ton of grants intended specifically for Black women, you will find grant opportunities targeted more generally toward women, minorities, or Black business owners—all of which you might be eligible for—so we’ve listed a few of those below.

Another caveat to keep in mind: deadlines. Application windows can be fairly short, and lots of grant programs that are designed for Black women business owners or Black entrepreneurs of any gender identity (like the PayPal Empowerment Grant for Black-Owned Businesses) are currently closed to applications.

Still, it’s worth being aware of these grant opportunities if and when they reopen for the next round of applicants. And you can always run a search for financing opportunities through a general grant portal or resource center. A couple of those are included here too.

Technically, the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program isn’t a grant program, and it’s also not one of the several (and highly coveted) loan programs for which the SBA is best known. Rather, it’s a business assistance program that aids “economically and socially disadvantaged business owners” in securing government contracts.

Each year, the federal government aims to set aside 5% of its annual contracting budget to small businesses that are owned and operated by marginalized entrepreneurs. The SBA 8(a) program provides such entrepreneurs the support they need to win those contracts, without competition. Participating entrepreneurs can receive assistance and training to help them navigate their businesses beyond securing government contracts too.

To be eligible for this nine-year program, applicants must fall under the SBA’s definitions of “economically disadvantaged” and “socially disadvantaged” individuals, among other factors. Briefly, the SBA defines “economically disadvantaged” individuals as those entrepreneurs “whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities.” And “socially disadvantaged” individuals are defined, in part, as “those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society because of their identities as members of groups and without regard to their individual qualities.”

Another incredible resource is IFundWomen (IFW), which helps female and female-identified founders of any race or ethnicity seek capital (specifically through crowdfunding), coaching, networking, and grant opportunities. But for today’s purposes, we direct you to IFW’s grants hub where they’ve aggregated a collection of the most exciting grant opportunities for women (crucially, with up-to-date application deadlines).

In addition to grant programs offered by corporations and private sponsors, this hub includes information and application links for IFW’s three in-house grant programs, including a relief fund for business owners who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Two grant programs within the IFW network are designed for Black women entrepreneurs in particular: the Visa Grant Program and the IFW Brokered Grant for Black-Owned Businesses.

Helpfully, too, they’ve gathered information about grant programs that are not within the IFW network, some of which are targeted specifically toward Black entrepreneurs.

Founded in 1981, The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation’s “largest nonprofit, non-partisan association” dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. One way the organization supports these smallest of small business owners is through their grant program. This program awards NASE Members up to $4,000 to finance a particular need, whether that’s purchasing equipment, hiring staff, launching a marketing plan, or another approved purpose.

Do note that NASE Growth Grants aren’t awarded solely to Black and/or female entrepreneurs. But based on the frequency with which grants are awarded, Black women entrepreneurs have several opportunities to secure one: Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year, and the organization awards one grant per month.

To apply for an NASE Growth Grant, you’ll first need to join NASE and remain in good standing with the organization for at least three months. After that, you can apply online.

The Minority Business Development Agency (MDBA) is a federal agency that supports the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in the U.S. Much like the SBA, the MBDA has over 40 physical locations across the country where minority entrepreneurs can seek financial assistance and business consulting.

While this isn’t necessarily a grant program in and of itself, the MDBA is a valuable resource for Black women entrepreneurs. You can find more information about grant and loan opportunities on the MDBA website.

The be-all and end-all of federal grant resources, Grants.gov is a portal where federal agencies offering grant programs—both specifically for minority-owned businesses and otherwise—post information about their offerings, including eligibility requirements, funding amounts, and application deadlines. You can look for a grant according to several search criteria, including your industry and the sponsoring federal agency.

Like the NASE Growth Grant, the Amber Grant Foundation awards one $10,000 grant to a small business owner per month. In this case, however, grants are offered only to female entrepreneurs, and they’re intended specifically to help new entrepreneurs launch their businesses. If you’re awarded one of the $10,000 monthly grants, you will also be in the running to win the Amber Grant’s yearly $25,000 grant.

The application process is simple too: You’ll fill out a short form right on the Amber Grant website, where you’ll tell the organization a little bit about your business idea and how you would spend your grant funds. Note that you’ll have to pay a $15 application fee.

If you’re a tech entrepreneur seeking early-stage funding opportunities, consider pitching the Female Founders Fund (FFF). Launched by “serial entrepreneur” Anu Duggal in 2014 and powered by a team of female investors, the fund is dedicated to “investing in the next generation of transformational technology companies founded by women.” Their portfolio boasts some of the “buzziest” female-owned companies out there, like Co-Star, Zola, Billie, Minibar, and Rent the Runway.

FFF invests in B2B, consumer, fintech, and health care businesses that have at least one female founding member, and they primarily focus on investing in seed-stage businesses. That said, they’re open to reviewing pitches from businesses in a variety of industries, and occasionally even before those businesses are ready for a formal funding round. They average between six to eight investments per year, with investments ranging from $500,000 to $750,000.

You can learn much more about FFF, their eligibility criteria, the investment process, and how to pitch them on their FAQ page.

Lastly, Black Girl Ventures (BGV) provides coaching, development, and community resources for Black and Brown female-identified entrepreneurs.

BGV’s marquee offering is their crowdfunded pitch competition program, in which participating entrepreneurs have three minutes to pitch their business idea, followed by a three-minute Q&A session with a panel of professionals in front of an audience. Then, the audience votes “with their dollars” on the crowdfunding platform SheRaise. First, second, and third place winners are announced, but everyone participating in the BGV Pitch has the opportunity to raise capital. Winners receive additional perks, as well, like free business coaching and a discount on graphic design services.

Being a Black, female-identified business owner can be incredibly challenging, but you’re not alone in your journey. In addition to some of the community, networking, and support organizations we’ve listed above, there are tons of additional resources to consider. Visiting your local SBA or SCORE office, either in person or online, can also be a great way to receive free resources and advice.

We’d also encourage you to apply for a business loan if you think you’re well-positioned to secure one. And if that’s the case, we’d love to help you sort through your options for a loan package.