How much can you borrow in federal student loans after July 1, 2026?

Summary

Undergraduate limits did not change. Graduate students can now borrow $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total, professional students $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total, and Grad PLUS is gone for new borrowers. Parent PLUS loans now stop at $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total per student, counting every parent who borrows for that child, and student borrowers face a new $257,500 lifetime cap. Students who were already borrowing for their program before July 1, 2026 can stay under the old limits for a while.

Undergraduates

Nothing moved here. A dependent undergraduate can borrow $5,500 in the first year, $6,500 in the second, and $7,500 a year after that, up to $31,000 in total. Independent undergraduates get $9,500, $10,500, and $12,500, up to $57,500. At every level the subsidized part is capped: $3,500, $4,500, and $5,500 a year, and $23,000 in total. A dependent student whose parent is turned down for a Parent PLUS loan because of adverse credit can borrow at the independent limits.

Graduate, professional, and parent borrowers

Borrower	Annual limit	Aggregate limit	Before July 1, 2026
Graduate student	$20,500 unsubsidized	$100,000, if never a professional student	$20,500 a year plus Grad PLUS; $138,500 aggregate including undergraduate loans
Professional student	$50,000 unsubsidized	$200,000 minus anything borrowed as a graduate student	Same as graduate
Parent PLUS	$20,000 per student	$65,000 per student, all parents combined	Cost of attendance minus other aid; no aggregate cap

The Parent PLUS cap follows the child. Federal Student Aid's own example: if one parent borrows $50,000 for a child and the other borrows $15,000 for the same child, the family has hit $65,000 for that child. They can still borrow up to $65,000 for a second child.

The $257,500 lifetime cap counts Direct and FFEL subsidized and unsubsidized loans and graduate or professional PLUS loans, whether or not they have been paid off or discharged. Parent PLUS loans borrowed for a child are left out. Aggregate limits work differently. They apply to the principal you still owe, so paying a balance down below the limit lets you borrow again up to the room that opens.

Why your number is usually lower

These are ceilings. You can never borrow more than the cost of attendance minus other aid, and a school may set a lower limit for a program if it applies the same limit to everyone enrolled in it. Less than full-time enrollment shrinks the annual limit in proportion. The limits do not start over on July 1, 2026, so every earlier loan still counts toward the aggregate and lifetime caps.

Who keeps the old limits

The interim exception covers students who meet three conditions. They were enrolled in a program at a school on June 30, 2026. They had received a Direct Loan for that program before July 1, or, for an undergraduate, their parent had received a Parent PLUS loan for them. And they have stayed enrolled at the same school for the same credential since then; graduate and professional students also have to stay in the same program. An approved leave of absence does not break enrollment.

The old limits last for three academic years or the rest of the program's published length, whichever is shorter. Parents borrowing for a qualifying undergraduate get the same window. Nobody who qualifies can opt out to borrow under the new limits. An undergraduate can change majors and keep the exception, but moving to a different credential level ends it.

The professional category is in court

Only students in programs that award a professional degree can use the $50,000 professional limit. The Department of Education's definition ties that to 11 fields, such as medicine, law, dentistry, and pharmacy, and adds conditions: generally doctoral level, at least six academic years of study, and a license to begin practice.

On June 24, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily stayed part of that definition. On June 29 the Department published an interim list of programs it will treat as professional while the stay lasts, and updated it on July 10. Along with the 11 fields, the list includes physician assistant, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, and nursing programs that award the MSN or DNP. Some programs in related fields were left off. The Department says these designations may change as the litigation proceeds.

Sources

Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from the sources' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.