The Second-Half 2026 Funding Calendar: Every Deadline, Rule Change, and Window That Matters Before December

Why You Need This Calendar

2026 is the most regulation-heavy year for women business owners in at least a decade. Federal lending protections are being dismantled. New compliance requirements are landing. Tax rules are shifting under the OBBBA. SBA contracting programs are under audit. And every one of these changes comes with a deadline — miss it, and you lose options.

HerCapital has published deep dives on each of these changes individually. But nowhere could you find every deadline in one place, organized chronologically, with action items attached.

This is that document.

Print it. Bookmark it. Put the dates in your calendar. Come back monthly — we’ll update this page as rulings land and deadlines shift.

Here’s what’s coming.

June 2026 — The Month Everything Lands

Four separate deadlines hit in June. Two of them can cost you contract eligibility. One rewrites the rules for AI in lending. And one starts a clock that doesn’t stop ticking until 2029.

June 27 — WOSB/EDWOSB Recertification Window Closes

What happens: The annual recertification window for the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged WOSB (EDWOSB) programs closes. The current window opened May 29 and shuts June 27.

Who’s affected: Every woman-owned business that holds or wants to hold WOSB or EDWOSB certification for federal set-aside contracts.

What to do: If you haven’t recertified, do it now. Not next week. Today. Missing this window means losing your ability to bid on set-aside contracts until the next annual cycle. That’s 12 months of lost access to billions in federal contracting dollars. Log into the SBA’s certification portal and confirm your status is current.

Deep dive: Read The EDWOSB Audit Countdown for the full context on what the SBA is demanding this cycle and why it’s more aggressive than previous years.

June 30 — Colorado AI Act Takes Effect

What happens: Colorado’s SB24-205, the first comprehensive state law regulating artificial intelligence in high-stakes decision-making, becomes enforceable. It requires impact assessments for any AI system used in lending, insurance, housing, or employment decisions. Penalties start at $20,000 per violation.

Who’s affected: If you operate in Colorado — or lend, insure, or hire in Colorado — and use any algorithmic or AI-driven tools in those decisions, you’re covered. That includes automated credit scoring, AI-assisted underwriting, and algorithmic hiring platforms.

If you’re a borrower in Colorado, this is actually good news: lenders using AI-driven underwriting must now provide consumer notification and appeal rights. If you’ve been denied credit by an algorithmic system, you now have the legal right to know and to challenge it.

What to do:

• Borrowers in Colorado: If you apply for credit and get denied, ask whether an algorithmic system was involved. Under SB24-205, lenders must tell you and must provide an appeal process.
• Business owners using AI tools: Audit every automated decision system that touches lending, insurance, hiring, or housing. Document your impact assessment. The law requires it and the $20K-per-violation penalty makes non-compliance expensive fast.

Why it matters beyond Colorado: This is a template. Multiple states are watching Colorado’s implementation before introducing their own versions. Read The State Protection Map for which states are moving next.

June 30 — Section 1071 Final Rule Becomes Effective

What happens: The CFPB’s final revised Section 1071 rule — the small business lending transparency rule — officially takes effect. Published May 1, 2026, this is the rule that requires lenders to collect and report demographic data on small business loan applicants.

Who’s affected: Financial institutions that originate at least 1,000 covered credit transactions per year. The rule excludes merchant cash advances, agricultural lending, and small-dollar loans. For borrowers, this eventually means lenders will have to report who they fund, who they deny, and the demographics behind those decisions.

What to do: Don’t confuse “effective date” with “compliance date.” The rule becomes effective June 30, but mandatory data collection doesn’t begin until January 1, 2028. First reports covering 2028 data are due June 1, 2029. That said, lenders meeting the 1,000-origination threshold should start building their data collection systems now — two years is less time than it sounds for a compliance buildout of this scale.

Deep dive: Read The 1071 Verdict for what the final rule kept, what it cut, and what it means for the lending data women business owners have been waiting 16 years to see.

June 30 — EDWOSB Program-Wide Audit: Tax Return Demand

What happens: The SBA’s June 2026 program-wide audit of the EDWOSB program includes a new demand: three years of personal tax returns from EDWOSB-certified business owners. This is a significant escalation from previous documentation requirements.

Who’s affected: Every EDWOSB-certified business owner. This is a program-wide audit — not targeted, not random sampling. Everyone.

What to do: Gather your 2023, 2024, and 2025 personal tax returns now. If your returns show income that might push you above the EDWOSB economic threshold, consult a CPA or attorney before submitting. Understand that the SBA is looking for fraud, and that the consequences of decertification go beyond lost contracts — it can trigger referrals.

Deep dive: The EDWOSB Audit Countdown has the full breakdown, including exactly what the SBA is looking for and how to prepare.

July 2026 — The Reg B Cliff

This is the month that matters most. And it comes down to a single date.

July 21 — Regulation B Overhaul Takes Effect

What happens: The CFPB’s final Regulation B rule rewrites the federal framework for fair lending under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Three changes matter most:

1. Disparate impact is eliminated. Under the current framework, a lending policy that disproportionately harms women — even without intentional discrimination — can be challenged. After July 21, you’ll need to prove the lender intended to discriminate. That’s a dramatically higher bar.
2. Special Purpose Credit Programs are restricted. Programs specifically designed to expand lending to women or minority borrowers face new legal constraints. Lenders already pulling back from these programs will have regulatory cover to end them entirely.
3. Discouragement protections are narrowed. The current rule protects borrowers from being discouraged from applying. The new rule narrows what counts as illegal discouragement — which means more ways a loan officer can signal “don’t bother” without legal consequence.

Who’s affected: Every woman who borrows money in the United States. This isn’t a technicality. Disparate impact has been the foundation of gender-based lending discrimination claims for decades. Removing it doesn’t just change the rules — it removes the primary enforcement tool.

What to do:

• Before July 21: If you have a pending lending complaint based on disparate impact, escalate it. After July 21, the legal standard changes and your claim may become unviable under federal law.
• Check your state: Some states maintain independent disparate impact protections that survive the federal rollback. The State Protection Map tracks which states still cover you and which don’t.
• Watch the NFHA lawsuit: The National Fair Housing Alliance filed suit on May 27 seeking to block this rule. A preliminary injunction could stay the July 21 effective date. We’re tracking this — see the Rolling Watch List below.

Deep dive: The Disparate Impact Countdown is the single most important article we’ve published this year. Read it. Read it before July 21. Read it again after.

Fall 2026 — The Federal Reset

October 1 — New Federal Fiscal Year Begins

What happens: The federal government’s fiscal year 2027 begins. That triggers several simultaneous resets:

• Updated SBA scorecard metrics take effect. The new scorecard emphasizes fraud reduction — a direct response to the Treasury’s ongoing contracting fraud probe. Agencies will be measured on fraud prevention, which means more scrutiny on every contracting certification, including WOSB and EDWOSB.
• New contracting goals are published. The government’s FY2027 targets for small business contracting, including WOSB set-asides, become official. Watch whether the targets increase, hold, or — the quiet risk — decrease.
• New WOSB set-aside targets for FY2027. These determine the dollar volume of contracts reserved for women-owned businesses in the coming year.

Who’s affected: Every woman-owned business in federal contracting, and every business considering entering the federal market.

What to do:

• Review the FY2027 scorecard metrics as soon as they’re published. Understand what agencies are being graded on — that’s where the money flows.
• If you’re WOSB/EDWOSB certified, compare the new set-aside targets to FY2026. A decrease signals reduced opportunity. An increase signals agencies under pressure to award more to women-owned firms.
• If you’re considering entering federal contracting, October is when the new playbook drops. Start positioning in September.

Q3 2026 — Treasury $9 Billion Contracting Fraud Probe

What happens: Treasury’s investigation into an estimated $9 billion in federal contracting fraud is ongoing. Enforcement actions and compliance updates are expected throughout Q3. This probe is driving the fraud-reduction emphasis in the new SBA scorecard and will likely lead to tighter certification requirements across all set-aside programs.

Who’s affected: Every certified small business in federal contracting. The probe isn’t targeting women-owned businesses specifically, but the compliance tightening affects WOSB and EDWOSB certification processes. Expect more documentation demands, longer processing times, and less tolerance for paperwork gaps.

What to do: Tighten your documentation. Make sure every certification claim — ownership percentage, economic disadvantage, business size — is supported by current records. The enforcement environment just got less forgiving.

December 2026 — The Tax Deadline Sprint

Three separate deadlines converge on December 31, and two of them require action that won’t happen automatically.

December 31 — OBBBA Dependent Care FSA Plan Amendment Deadline

What happens: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the Dependent Care FSA annual contribution limit from $5,000 to $7,500. But here’s what nobody tells you: the increase is not automatic. Employers must formally amend their Section 125 cafeteria plans by December 31, 2026, to adopt the new limit.

Who’s affected: Every business owner who sponsors a dependent care FSA — and every employee (including yourself) who uses one. If your plan isn’t amended by December 31, you’re stuck at the old $5,000 limit for the 2027 plan year.

What to do: Contact your benefits administrator or TPA now. Ask specifically whether your Section 125 plan document has been amended to reflect the new $7,500 OBBBA limit. Don’t assume it’s handled. Plan amendments are paperwork — they require someone to do them, and many smaller TPAs are behind.

December 31 — Bonus Depreciation Drops to 40%

What happens: The bonus depreciation percentage for assets placed in service in 2026 is 40% — down from 60% in 2025, 80% in 2024, and 100% before 2023. This is the scheduled phase-down under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and barring new legislation, it drops to 20% in 2027.

Who’s affected: Any business owner purchasing equipment, vehicles, technology, or other depreciable assets. The lower the bonus depreciation percentage, the less you can deduct in the first year — which changes the math on major purchases.

What to do: If you’re considering a significant equipment purchase, run the numbers on 2026 vs. 2027. At 40% bonus depreciation, you can still deduct a meaningful portion of the cost upfront. At 20% next year, the tax benefit drops by half. December 31 is the cutoff for assets placed in service in 2026 — “placed in service” means installed and operational, not just ordered.

December 31 — Tax Year Close: Final Estimated Tax Adjustments

What happens: The 2026 tax year ends. This is your final opportunity to adjust estimated tax payments based on OBBBA changes — including QBI deduction extensions, expanded childcare credits, and R&D amortization changes that affect how much you owe and when.

Who’s affected: Every business owner filing estimated quarterly taxes. If you haven’t adjusted your Q4 estimated payment to account for OBBBA changes, you may be overpaying or underpaying.

What to do: Schedule a Q4 review with your CPA no later than early December. Specifically address:

• Whether QBI deduction changes affect your passthrough income
• Whether expanded childcare credits reduce your liability
• Whether R&D amortization changes (Section 174) affect your deductions
• Whether the bonus depreciation drop-down changes your asset purchase timing

Don’t wait until January. By then you’re filing, not planning.

The Rolling Watch List

These items don’t have a single deadline — they’re ongoing situations that could change your planning at any point in H2 2026.

ERC Audit Escalation

Current status: The IRS has approximately 20,600 Employee Retention Credit claims in various stages of review: roughly 3,500 under active review, 5,500 under audit, and 6,000 awaiting disallowance response review. The IRS claims a 90% disallowance accuracy rate on reviewed claims.

What to know: If you received an ERC and haven’t been contacted by the IRS, don’t assume you’re clear. The statute of limitations for ERC claims is six years from filing — not three. The IRS is working through the backlog, not abandoning it.

What to do: If you claimed the ERC, have your documentation organized and accessible: payroll records, revenue calculations, government orders that qualified you for the credit. If you used an ERC mill and your documentation is thin, consult a tax attorney now — before you get the letter, not after.

Deep dive: The ERC Time Bomb covers the full audit landscape and what the disallowance wave means for business owners who claimed in good faith.

Section 1071 Compliance Preparation

Current status: The rule is effective June 30, 2026. Mandatory data collection begins January 1, 2028. First filings due June 1, 2029.

What to know: If you’re a lender meeting the 1,000-origination threshold, the 18-month runway between effective date and compliance date is shorter than it looks. Building data collection infrastructure, training staff, updating application workflows, and testing reporting systems takes time — and most of it can’t be parallelized.

What to do: Start now. Map your current data collection against the final rule’s requirements. Identify gaps. Budget for system changes. Don’t wait for the compliance date to discover your systems can’t capture what the rule requires.

NFHA v. CFPB Lawsuit — Reg B Challenge

Current status: The National Fair Housing Alliance filed suit on May 27, 2026, seeking to block the July 21 Regulation B changes. A preliminary injunction ruling could come at any time.

What to know: If the court grants an injunction, the July 21 changes would be stayed — meaning disparate impact protections, Special Purpose Credit Programs, and discouragement protections remain in effect while the case is litigated. If the court denies the injunction, the changes take effect as scheduled.

What to do: Watch for the ruling. We’ll update this page the day it drops. In the meantime, plan for both scenarios: prepare as if the changes take effect July 21, but know that a stay is possible.

Deep dive: The Protection Collapse Map shows the full picture — all six federal safeguards under threat and what happens if each one falls.

State-Level Lending Protection Legislation

Current status: Multiple states are considering their own fair lending bills in direct response to the federal retreat on Regulation B. California, New York, Illinois, Washington, and Colorado are the most active.

What to know: If the federal government removes disparate impact protections on July 21, your state may be the only thing standing between you and an unaccountable lending system. Some states already have robust protections. Others have nothing.

What to do: Check The State Protection Map. Know whether your state maintains independent fair lending protections. If it doesn’t, know which states are considering legislation — and consider making your voice heard. State legislatures move faster than Congress, and they’re listening right now.

How to Use This Calendar

This page is a reference document. It’s designed to be bookmarked, printed, and revisited — not read once and forgotten.

Monthly check-in: Come back to this page at the start of each month from July through December. We’ll update entries as rulings land, deadlines shift, and new developments emerge.

Forward planning: Use the dates above to schedule specific actions — CPA meetings, certification reviews, documentation audits, equipment purchase decisions. Don’t let a deadline arrive without a plan already in motion.

Capital planning: Several of these deadlines directly affect your access to capital, your borrowing costs, and your tax position. If you’re planning a funding round, an equipment purchase, or a contract bid in H2 2026, run your timeline against this calendar first. Tools like Lendesca can help you map your capital needs against available programs and shifting eligibility windows — worth checking before deadlines start closing.

Share it: If you know a woman business owner who isn’t tracking these changes, send her this page. Most of these deadlines aren’t making headlines. The businesses that miss them will only find out when it’s too late to act.

Quick-Reference Summary Table

This calendar was last updated September 2026. HerCapital updates this page as deadlines shift and new rulings land. Bookmark it.