Parent PLUS Gap Calculator
Since July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS loans are capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total per student. See what you can still borrow, what the fee takes, and how much of the bill is left uncovered.
Estimate your Parent PLUS gap
Use per-year figures from your financial aid offer. Results update as you type.
What changed on July 1, 2026
Before the 2025 budget law (H.R. 1, Public Law 119-21, which the Education Department now calls the Working Families Tax Cuts Act), parents could borrow Parent PLUS up to the full cost of attendance minus other aid, with no lifetime limit. For loan periods that begin on or after July 1, 2026, the rules are:
Families whose student was already in a program on June 30, 2026 with a federal loan for it may keep the old rules for up to three more academic years. That is the legacy provision. The full rules, with examples, are on the Parent PLUS loan limits 2026–27 page.
How the calculator works
- Need. For each year, it starts with the cost of attendance (rising by the yearly increase you set) and subtracts grants, the student’s own federal loan and what your family pays. What is left is the amount you would want to borrow.
- What Parent PLUS allows. In a legacy year, PLUS is limited only by cost of attendance minus other aid. In every other year the loan is the smallest of your need, cost of attendance minus aid, $20,000, and whatever is left of $65,000 after all earlier Parent PLUS for this student.
- Fees. 4.228% comes off each disbursement, so a $20,000 loan sends $19,154.40 to the school. If you tick “borrow extra to cover the fee,” the calculator borrows a little more to make up for it, but never past a cap.
- Gap. Whatever the net loan does not cover is your uncovered gap for that year. The total at the top adds up every year. To see the gap at a specific school, start from the Parent PLUS gap at major colleges.
- Payment. The estimate uses the Tiered Standard plan that new Parent PLUS loans must use: 10, 15, 20 or 25 years depending on your total Direct Loan balance. The repayment calculator adds in-school interest and compares terms.
Worked example: a freshman starting in fall 2026
The default numbers above describe a common case. The cost of attendance is $60,000 and rises 3% a year. The student has $15,000 in grants and borrows the maximum federal Direct Loan herself. The parents can pay $8,000 a year. No federal loan was taken before July 2026, so the legacy rule does not apply.
| School year | Need | Parent PLUS | Net after fee | Uncovered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026–27 | $31,500 | $20,000 | $19,154 | $12,346 |
| 2027–28 | $32,300 | $20,000 | $19,154 | $13,146 |
| 2028–29 | $33,154 | $20,000 | $19,154 | $14,000 |
| 2029–30 | $35,064 | $5,000 | $4,789 | $30,275 |
| Total | $132,018 | $65,000 | $62,251 | $69,767 |
The $20,000 annual cap binds in each of the first three years. In senior year only $5,000 of the $65,000 lifetime cap is left, so the gap jumps to more than $30,000. Even borrowing every dollar allowed, about $2,749 goes to fees. Repaying $65,000 at 9.07% over the 20-year term that balance falls into costs about $588 a month.
Reading your result
- Max PLUS allowed is the most federal rules let you borrow that year. If it is larger than what you borrow, the year is limited by your need, not the cap.
- PLUS for student so far is the running total that counts toward $65,000. Loans you have paid off or that were forgiven still count. Funds returned to the lender shortly after disbursement do not.
- Rows marked Legacy rule use the pre-2026 limits. Loans from those years still count toward $65,000 once the legacy period ends, which is why a fifth year after a legacy period often shows no PLUS at all.
- The calculator assumes the parent qualifies for PLUS (no adverse credit history) and that the student stays enrolled in the same program.
Your school’s financial aid office determines the official amount. The federal system (COD) flags which students qualify for the legacy rule, and schools certify each loan against cost of attendance.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Parent PLUS cap per parent or per student?
Per student. The $20,000 annual and $65,000 total limits cover all Parent PLUS loans that all parents borrow for one dependent student. Two parents cannot each borrow $20,000 a year for the same child. The Education Department’s loan limits FAQ answers this directly: the limit is $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total “per dependent student.”
Does the $65,000 limit include Parent PLUS loans taken before July 2026?
Yes. The $65,000 aggregate counts every Parent PLUS borrowed for that student, including loans from before July 1, 2026 and loans for other schools, and it ignores repayment and forgiveness. If you have already borrowed $65,000 or more for a student who does not qualify for the legacy rule, you cannot borrow more Parent PLUS for that student.
Who keeps the old, uncapped Parent PLUS limits?
Parents of a student who was enrolled in a program on June 30, 2026 and had a federal Direct Loan for that program disbursed before July 1, 2026. The loan can be the student’s own Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loan or a Parent PLUS. The old limits last for the lesser of three academic years or the time left in the program. Check your legacy status.
Does the origination fee count against the $20,000 cap?
Yes. The cap applies to the amount you borrow, and the 4.228% fee comes out of that amount. Borrowing the full $20,000 puts $19,154.40 toward the bill. Across the full $65,000, fees total about $2,748.
I have two children in college. Do I get $65,000 for each?
Yes. The limits apply per dependent student, so a parent can borrow up to $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total for each child. Your repayment term is based on all your Direct Loans combined, so loans for two children often land in the 20- or 25-year tier.
If we hit the cap, can my child borrow more federal loans instead?
No. A dependent student can get extra Unsubsidized Loan money ($4,000 a year in the first two years, $5,000 after that) only when a parent is unable to get a PLUS loan, usually because of adverse credit. The Education Department has said that reaching the $65,000 limit does not trigger that extra eligibility.
Will the $20,000 and $65,000 limits rise with inflation?
The law and the regulation set fixed dollar amounts with no inflation adjustment. The interest rate and origination fee do change: rates are reset each July 1 for new loans, and fees each October 1.
Is anything I type stored?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Your inputs are kept only in the page address, so you can bookmark or share a result.
Sources
- Federal Register, 91 FR 23768 (May 1, 2026): Federal Student Loan Program final regulations (34 CFR 685.102, 685.200, 685.203, 685.208)
- U.S. Department of Education, "Frequently Asked Questions – Loan Limits" (May 20, 2026), copy published by Washington State University
- Federal Register, FR Doc. 2026-18493: Interest rates for fixed-rate Direct Loans first disbursed July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027
- FSA Partner Connect, GENERAL-26-28: FY27 sequester-required changes to the Title IV student aid programs (loan fees)
- Congress.gov: H.R. 1, 119th Congress (Public Law 119-21), enacted July 4, 2025