Just like government benefits, government loans are another kind of service given by the US government to its citizens. The only major difference between the two is that government benefits are actual benefits or assistance given by the government without requiring the recipients to pay the amount of benefit or assistance bestowed upon them.

Whereas government loans are the opposite. They function the same as private lending companies wherein they require the recipients to pay the amount of money lent to them with added interest rates.

Most private lending companies require collateral or implement a costly interest that recipients cannot afford to provide or pay overtime. Thus, government loan programs are established to address this problem.

These programs primarily aim to lend money to:

• Small businesses;
• Working individuals; and
• To needy communities;

With lower interest rates and less burdensome requirements, its goal is to help citizens and it is not merely for business purposes.

Just like government benefits, there are various types of government loans you can choose from depending on the type of help you need. Below are the following categories:

• Agricultural loans;
• Business loans;
• Education loans;
• Housing loans; and
• Veteran loans.

Qualifications may vary depending on the program you are applying for.

Agricultural

Most agricultural loans qualify those who:

• Owns farmland;
• Have one or more years of farming/ranching experience;
• Have no previous delinquencies; and
• A legal citizen of the United States.

Business:

The widely used business loaning program under SBA is the 7(a) Small Business Loan. Just like other loaning programs the basic requirements are the following:

• Owns a small business;
• Shows business ownership certificate;
• Shows existing financial statements;
• No previous delinquencies; and
• Can prove the need for a loan.

Education:

There are various loaning programs for students, may it be for a dependent, graduate, undergraduate, and higher education students. Most programs qualify applicants who:

• Demonstrate a need for an educational loan;
• Do not have previous delinquencies; and
• A student attending a school or university (some programs only grant loans to chosen schools).

Housing

In this category, most programs aim to help low-income families to build and/or improve a house. Most programs may ask for the following requisites:

• Must be a legal citizen in the US;
• Must have a very low to moderate-income (the range is intended so that qualified recipients will be able to pay interests, taxes, and other payments);
• Must not have any previous delinquencies; and
• Must not be a recipient of other loaning programs.

Veterans

This is actually a general category. Most of the recipients in this category are working individuals, families, and retired workers. Some basic requisites when you apply are the following:

• Must be a legal citizen of the US;
• Must not have any previous delinquencies;
• Must not be a recipient of other loan programs;
• Must have an income not higher than the program’s limit; and
• Must prove that s/he is qualified to get a loan.

Note that the listed requirements and qualifications above may vary depending on the program you desire to apply. Some may have special requirements that are not mentioned above.

If you want more specific details about available government loans in the US, feel free to visit the government’s official loan finder website to have access to hundreds of loan programs and find the most suitable one for you.