Parent PLUS Gap Calculator
Starting July 1, 2026, parents can borrow no more than $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total in Parent PLUS loans for each dependent student. This calculator shows how much of one year's cost those limits leave uncovered.
By Moises Lopez, Educator (10+ yrs, LAUSD & nonprofits) · Published
Calculator
Calculates the annual funding gap when OBBBA's Parent PLUS caps — $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total, per student — fall short of your school's Cost of Attendance. Families covered by the legacy exception can still borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other aid, so this calculator doesn't apply to them.
Include loans from before July 1, 2026 and amounts already repaid: the $65,000 total counts them.
The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
How to use it
- First, check whether the new limits apply. If the student qualifies for the interim exception, often called legacy status, the parent can still borrow up to the cost of attendance minus other aid, and this calculator doesn't apply. The Legacy Borrower Status Checker can help you find out.
- Enter the annual cost of attendance from the school's financial aid offer.
- Enter the other aid expected for the year: grants, scholarships, and the student's own federal loans.
- Enter the Parent PLUS already borrowed for this student, in all years and by both parents. Include loans made before July 1, 2026 and amounts already repaid, because the $65,000 total counts them.
- Select Find My Funding Gap. You'll see the net cost after aid, the most Parent PLUS you can borrow this year, and any gap left over.
Worked example
A family faces a $58,000 cost of attendance, expects $18,000 in other aid, and has already borrowed $48,000 in Parent PLUS loans for this student.
| Cost of attendance | $58,000 |
| Minus other aid | − $18,000 |
| Net cost after aid | $40,000 |
| Per-student total left | $65,000 − $48,000 = $17,000 |
| Most Parent PLUS this year | the smallest of $20,000, $40,000, and $17,000 = $17,000 |
| Funding gap | $23,000 |
Here the per-student total, not the annual cap, is what limits borrowing. In the student's first year, with no Parent PLUS borrowed yet, the same family could borrow $20,000 and would face a $20,000 gap.
How the calculation works
The calculator subtracts other aid from the cost of attendance to find the net cost. It then works out the most Parent PLUS the family can borrow this year: the smallest of the $20,000 annual cap, the net cost, and whatever remains of the $65,000 per-student total. Whatever is left over is the gap.
Both limits apply per dependent student, not per parent, so both parents' PLUS borrowing for the same student is added together. The $65,000 total counts every Parent PLUS loan made for that student, including loans that were later repaid, forgiven, or discharged. Money that the school or the borrower returned doesn't count.
What the calculator can't tell you
- Future years. It shows one year's gap. Run it again for each year, adding the Parent PLUS borrowed so far.
- The interim exception. Families who qualify keep the old limit, the cost of attendance minus other aid, for up to 3 academic years, so the calculator doesn't describe their situation.
- Credit approval. Parent PLUS loans require a credit check, and the calculator assumes the loan is approved.
- Extra student loans. When a parent is denied a PLUS loan, a dependent student can usually borrow more in Direct Unsubsidized Loans. Reaching the $65,000 total doesn't count as a denial, so it doesn't unlock that extra amount.
Sources
- studentaid.gov: One Big Beautiful Bill Act definitions (updated Aug. 24, 2026)
- studentaid.gov: Parent PLUS Loans
- Department of Education final rule, 91 FR 23768 (May 1, 2026)
Checked against these sources on September 24, 2026. If something here looks wrong, please tell us through the contact page.