New Federal Loan limits as of 2026, new Federal Loan limits introduced including annual and lifetime caps for Graduate, Medical and Parent PLUS Loans.

Parent PLUS Annual & Aggregate Limits

All parents (combined) may borrow $20,000 per year per dependent student and a $65,000 aggregate limit per dependent student (without regard to amounts forgiven, repaid, canceled, or discharged).

Provision: If a borrower has a Federal Direct Loan made before July 1, 2026, while the dependent student is enrolled in a credentialed program, the parent can continue to borrow under the current loan limits for 3 academic years or the remainder of their dependent student’ s expected time to credential, whichever is less.

Graduate PLUS Loan Program Elimination

Beginning July 1, 2026, the Federal Graduate PLUS Loan program will be discontinued for new borrowers.

Provision: Students who have a Graduate PLUS Loan disbursed before July 1, 2026 and continue to be enrolled in the same program may continue borrowing $20,500 of Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Graduate PLUS Loans up to the full cost of attendance through June 30, 2029 or until the end of their program, whichever comes first.

Federal Loan Program Lifetime Loan Limits

A $257,500 lifetime borrowing limit on all Federal Student Loans, excluding borrowed Parent PLUS loan amounts (in the case of a dependent student who has Parent PLUS borrowed on their behalf for educational expenses). Also, a lifetime aggregate limit of $100,000 in Graduate loans has been implemented starting July 1, 2026 for all new borrowers.

Provision: If a borrower has a Federal Direct Loan made before July 1, 2026, while enrolled in a credentialed program. The borrower can continue to borrow under the current loan limits for 3 academic years or the remainder of their expected time to credential, whichever is less.

Federal Loan Program Annual Loan Limit (Based on less than full-time enrollment)(Awaiting further information)

The OBBBA requires institutions to adjust the annual loan limit for students who enroll on a less than full-time basis. Students whose enrollment status changes during the payment period will keep the amount of loans disbursed for that payment period. Future disbursements, however, would be adjusted accordingly if the student’s annual enrollment is less than full-time.

Example. If an undergraduate student in a semester-based academic year planning to enroll in 12 credits per term would be eligible for the full annual loan limit, split equally over fall and spring. If the student dropped from 12 to 9 credits after their fall loan was disbursed, the school would not have to reduce the fall loan. However, before making the spring disbursement, the
institution would again have to look at the student’s annual enrollment. If the student still only planned to take 12 credits for the spring, their annual limit would be adjusted to 21/24 of the statutory annual limit and the spring amount would be that amount minus what was received in the fall. If the student enrolled in 15 credits for the spring, however, the institution could disburse the second half of the full annual limit since the student would be enrolled full-time for the academic year.

***Parent PLUS loans are not subject to these adjustments for less-than full-time study.***