When was your first federal student loan disbursed?
Disbursed means when the money actually reached the school, not when you applied or signed.
You are under the earlier rules
Your loans keep the borrowing limits and repayment options that applied when they were disbursed. Income-Based Repayment remains open to you indefinitely, and the plans being phased out remain available for a transitional period.
The thing to watch: taking out even one new federal loan on or after 1 July 2026 moves all of your Direct Loans onto the new rules. That is not reversible, so it is worth understanding before you borrow again.
You are under the current rules
New borrowing limits apply, the Grad PLUS programme is closed to new borrowers, and your repayment options are the Repayment Assistance Plan or the Tiered Standard plan. Parent PLUS borrowing is capped and is not eligible for the Repayment Assistance Plan.
The later loans decide it
Borrowing even one federal loan on or after 1 July 2026 places all of your Direct Loans under the current rules, including the ones you took out earlier. In practice you should read the current-rules answer rather than the earlier one.
You will be under the current rules
Anything you borrow now falls under the rules that took effect on 1 July 2026. Where this site shows two figures side by side, yours is the one marked as applying from July 2026.
An example of what differs
| Who this applies to | Annual borrowing limit |
|---|---|
| Loans first disbursed before 1 July 2026 Borrowers whose federal loans were all first disbursed before 1 July 2026. | Cost of attendance minus other aid |
| Loans first disbursed on or after 1 July 2026 Borrowing even one federal loan on or after 1 July 2026 places all of a borrower's Direct Loans under these rules. | $20,000 per year |
Checked July 30, 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this article.
| Who this applies to | Availability |
|---|---|
| Loans first disbursed before 1 July 2026 Borrowers whose federal loans were all first disbursed before 1 July 2026. | Remains open indefinitely |
| Loans first disbursed on or after 1 July 2026 Borrowing even one federal loan on or after 1 July 2026 places all of a borrower's Direct Loans under these rules. | Not available |
Checked July 30, 2026 against the sources listed at the end of this article.
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