On July 18, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued an interim final rule that will adjust monetary-based small business size standards for inflation to allow more small businesses to become eligible for the SBA’s loan and contracting programs.

The interim final rule lays out the new size standards by industry, which will be raised nearly 8.4% from current levels. Interested parties can view the new size standards beginning on page 34,269 in the Federal Register notice. The final rule is effective Aug. 19, 2019. SBA also invites public comment on the interim final rule, which is due Sept. 16, 2019.

According to an SBA press release, the agency is adjusting its size standards to reflect the inflation that has occurred since the last adjustment for inflation in 2014. The SBA estimates that nearly 90,000 additional businesses will gain small business status under the adjusted size standards, which could lead to as much as $750 million in additional federal contracts awarded to small businesses and up to 120 additional small business loans totaling nearly $65 million.

The SBA also recently issued a proposed rule to modify its method for calculating annual average receipts used to prescribe size standards for small businesses from a three-year averaging period to a five-year averaging period. The agency is soliciting comments on this proposal, which are are due Aug. 23, 2019.