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Federal student loan limits changed on July 1, 2026. Undergraduate limits stayed the same, but Grad PLUS loans ended for new borrowers, graduate students now have a $100,000 total limit (professional students $200,000), Parent PLUS is capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student, and every student has a new $257,500 lifetime cap. Students already in a program with a federal loan before July 1, 2026, may keep the old limits for up to three years.
Checked Oct. 24, 2026
Runs on your phone; nothing you type is sent anywhere. Uses the limits for loans first paid out on or after July 1, 2026.
Parents: enter what all parents have already borrowed in PLUS loans for this student. Graduate students who were professional students (and professional students): enter all graduate and professional borrowing.
From the Education Department's charts (StudentAid.gov; FSA COD changes). New limits apply to everyone who doesn't qualify for the interim exception.
| Borrower | Before July 1, 2026 | From July 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Dependent undergraduate | $5,500 first year / $6,500 second / $7,500 third year and beyond (subsidized up to $3,500 / $4,500 / $5,500) | No change |
| Independent undergraduate (or dependent whose parent can't get a PLUS loan because of adverse credit) | $9,500 / $10,500 / $12,500 (same subsidized caps) | No change |
| Graduate student: Direct Unsubsidized | $20,500 | $20,500 |
| Graduate or professional student: Grad PLUS | Cost of attendance minus other aid | No longer available |
| Professional student: Direct Unsubsidized | $20,500 | $50,000 |
| Parent PLUS | Cost of attendance minus other aid | $20,000 per dependent student (all parents combined) |
| Borrower | Before July 1, 2026 | From July 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Dependent undergraduate | $31,000 (up to $23,000 subsidized) | No change |
| Independent undergraduate | $57,500 (up to $23,000 subsidized) | No change |
| Graduate student | $138,500, including undergraduate loans | $100,000 for graduate study (never a professional student); undergraduate loans don't count |
| Professional student | $138,500, including undergraduate loans | $200,000 minus any amount received as a graduate student |
| Parent PLUS | No limit | $65,000 per dependent student, all parents combined, even if repaid, forgiven or discharged |
| Lifetime, any student | No limit | $257,500: subsidized, unsubsidized and Grad PLUS (Direct and FFEL), regardless of amounts repaid or discharged |
Some health profession students had higher limits before July 1, 2026 ($224,000 aggregate). They keep them only while they qualify for the interim exception (FSA NSLDS announcement). Undergraduate, graduate and professional level limits: if you repay enough to bring your balance below the limit, you can borrow again up to the limit (StudentAid.gov). The lifetime and Parent PLUS caps don't work that way. Law: 20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)(4)-(8).
You keep the pre-July 2026 limits, including Grad PLUS and uncapped Parent PLUS, if all of these are true (StudentAid.gov; Parent PLUS page; Grad PLUS page):
How long: the lesser of three academic years or the rest of the program's published length. The Education Department's systems carry the exception through the 2028–29 award year (FSA COD changes). Undergraduates can change majors and keep it, but not change credential level (for example, associate to bachelor's). If you qualify, you can't opt out to use the new limits. A school merger keeps the exception; transferring after a school closure keeps it only with a teach-out agreement.
It matters: professional students get $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total; graduate students $20,500 and $100,000. The Education Department defines a professional degree as generally doctoral-level, needing at least six academic years of college (including two after the bachelor's) and usually a license to practice, in the same group as: pharmacy (Pharm.D.), dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), veterinary medicine (D.V.M.), chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), law (LL.B. or J.D.), medicine (M.D.), optometry (O.D.), osteopathic medicine (D.O.), podiatry (D.P.M., D.P. or Pod.D.), theology (M.Div. or M.H.L.) and clinical psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).
Court order: StudentAid.gov says that on June 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily stayed part of the Education Department's professional degree definition, so some programs' status has changed while the stay lasts. Ask your school how your program is classified (StudentAid.gov).
| Loan | Fixed rate | Loan fee |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Subsidized / Unsubsidized, undergraduate | 6.52% | 1.057% |
| Direct Unsubsidized, graduate or professional | 8.07% | 1.057% |
| Direct PLUS (parents; grad/professional under the exception) | 9.07% | 4.228% |
Rates for loans first paid out July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027 (StudentAid.gov; FSA announcement). The fee comes out of each disbursement, but you repay the full amount borrowed.
Facts, not financial advice. We republish Education Department rules with dates and do simple arithmetic. Your school decides how much you can borrow. No partner links on this page.
Yes, for new borrowers. Grad PLUS loans aren't available for periods of study starting on or after July 1, 2026, unless the student qualifies for the interim exception (enrolled in the same program at the same school on June 30, 2026, with a Direct Loan already received for it). The exception lasts up to three academic years.
Without the interim exception: $20,500 a year in Direct Unsubsidized Loans and $100,000 in total for graduate study. Professional students (such as medicine, law or pharmacy) can borrow $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total, minus any amount received as a graduate student. Everyone has a $257,500 lifetime limit.
For parents who don't qualify for the interim exception: $20,000 a year for each dependent student, from all parents combined, and $65,000 in total per student, counting amounts already repaid, forgiven or discharged.
No. Dependent undergraduates can still borrow $5,500, $6,500 and then $7,500 a year (up to $31,000 in total); independent undergraduates $9,500, $10,500 and then $12,500 (up to $57,500). What's new: limits are reduced in proportion if you're enrolled less than full time, and your school may set a lower limit for your program.
A new cap on all federal student loans a student can borrow over a lifetime: subsidized, unsubsidized and Grad PLUS loans across undergraduate, graduate and professional study, without regard to amounts repaid or discharged. Parent PLUS loans you take out for a child don't count toward your own lifetime limit.
No. This page republishes Education Department rules with dates and does simple arithmetic. Your school sets the amount you can actually borrow.
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