How much you can borrow in federal loans under the limits that began July 1, 2026
Updated October 2026
| Borrower | Annual limit | Aggregate limit |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate student (not professional) | $20,500 Direct Unsubsidized | $100,000, not counting undergraduate loans |
| Professional student | $50,000 Direct Unsubsidized | $200,000, not counting undergraduate loans |
| Student who has been both | as above for the current program | $200,000 combined graduate and professional |
| Parent PLUS, per dependent student | $20,000 (all parents together) | $65,000 |
| Every student, lifetime | – | $257,500, all federal student loans including undergraduate; parent PLUS borrowed for a child excluded |
Repaid, forgiven or discharged loans still count toward the Parent PLUS aggregate and the lifetime limit. A professional student is one in a program that awards a professional degree as defined in 34 CFR 668.2; ED’s training materials list pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology and clinical psychology. Under ED’s May 2026 rule, a joint degree counts as professional if more than half its credits are professional.
The calculator takes the smallest of three numbers: the annual limit times the years left (reduced in proportion for part-time enrollment), your remaining aggregate room, and your remaining lifetime room. Worked example: a law student with $57,500 of undergraduate loans and $30,000 borrowed for an earlier master’s has 3 years left at $50,000 a year, or $150,000. The professional aggregate leaves $200,000 − $30,000 = $170,000, and the lifetime cap leaves $257,500 − $87,500 = $170,000, so the full $150,000 is available. Four years of the same program would be capped at $170,000.
| Scenario | Annual limit | Total federal loans for the program |
|---|---|---|
| MBA or other master’s, 2 years | $20,500 | $41,000 |
| Medical school, 4 years, $27,000 undergraduate loans | $50,000 | $200,000 |
| Law school after a $30,000 master’s and $57,500 undergraduate | $50,000 | $150,000 |
| PhD, 6 years | $20,500 | $100,000 |
| Part-time master’s at 50%, 3 years | $10,250 | $30,750 |
| Parent of an undergraduate, 4 years | $20,000 | $65,000 |
Before July 2026, graduate and professional students could add Grad PLUS loans up to the full cost of attendance minus other aid on top of the $20,500 unsubsidized limit. For periods of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2026, graduate and professional students can no longer receive Direct PLUS loans, except under the interim exception below. Programs that cost more than the new limits leave a gap to fill with savings, school aid or private loans.
A student who, as of June 30, 2026, was enrolled in a program and had received a federal loan for it (or whose parent had) keeps the old rules for the expected time to credential: the lesser of three academic years or the time left in the program. During that period, graduate students keep Grad PLUS and the old $138,500 aggregate ($224,000 for eligible health professions programs, per FSA), and parents keep PLUS up to the cost of attendance. Withdrawing or leaving the program ends the exception; ED’s rule treats a change of major within the same degree as the same program.
From the 2026–27 award year, annual Direct Loan limits are reduced in direct proportion to part-time enrollment, rounded to the nearest whole percentage point (ED Dear Colleague Letter GEN-25-04, July 18, 2025): a half-time graduate student’s limit is $10,250. Parent PLUS loans are not reduced. Schools may also set lower limits for a program if they apply them to every student in it, and no loan can exceed the cost of attendance minus other aid.
Where the new caps fall short, options include school scholarships and assistantships, employer tuition benefits, savings and private student loans, which carry their own credit checks and lack federal protections. New federal loans made on or after July 1, 2026 are repaid under the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or a tiered standard plan; the RAP student loan calculator estimates payments.
It does not set your actual award, which depends on your school’s cost of attendance, other aid, enrollment and any program limits; it does not cover undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized annual limits, which this law did not change; and the definition of professional programs follows ED’s rules, which can be revised. Your financial aid office makes the binding determination.
Assuming Grad PLUS is still there. New graduate borrowers after July 1, 2026 cannot get it outside the interim exception.
Forgetting undergraduate loans in the lifetime cap. They do not count toward the $100,000 or $200,000 graduate aggregates but do count toward $257,500.
Counting the Parent PLUS limit per parent. $20,000 and $65,000 are per student, for all parents combined.
Thinking repayment frees up room. Repaid or forgiven loans still count toward the lifetime and Parent PLUS aggregates.