Federal student loan rules are changing on July 1, 2026, affecting repayment plans, Parent PLUS loans, graduate student loans, and loan forgiveness programs.
Borrowers are advised to check their student loan accounts now instead of waiting until after July 1.
SAVE plan borrowers must act before the deadline, as they will receive 90 days to choose a different repayment plan.
Those who do not choose a new plan within 90 days will be automatically moved to another repayment plan, which could result in higher monthly payments.
Parents with Parent PLUS loans face an important deadline before July 1, as they must consolidate their loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to keep access to certain repayment benefits.
New borrowers will have only two repayment plan choices starting July 1: the Standard Repayment Plan and the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
The Standard Repayment Plan uses fixed monthly payments, while RAP is an income-based repayment plan with payments ranging from 1% to 10% of a borrower's income.
Graduate borrowers earning less than $10,000 a year could pay as little as $10 per month under RAP, which offers loan forgiveness after 30 years of repayment.
Graduate PLUS loans will no longer be available after July 1, and new graduate unsubsidized loans will be capped at $20,500 per year for many graduate programs.
