On July 4th, President Trump signed into law a budget reconciliation bill called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. As part of this reconciliation bill, there are many changes that affect Federal Student Aid. These changes are currently in negotiated rule making so many details have not been finalized. The broad changes that are included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that affect Federal Student Aid are as follows. This list is not exhaustive and may change:
| Federal Direct Loan Program |
| Topic | Change | Note | Effective Dates |
| Graduate PLUS Loan Program |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| Parent PLUS Annual & Aggregate Loan Limits |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| Graduate/Professional Annual & Aggregate Loan Limits |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| Federal Loan Program Lifetime Loan Limits |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| Institutionally Determined Limits |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| Loan Proration |
|
No date mentioned in final bill. |
| Student Loan Repayment |
| Topic | Change | Notes | Effective Dates |
| Repayment Plan/New Borrowers |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| Repayment Plan/Current Borrowers |
|
|
July 1, 2026 & July 1, 2028 |
| Repayment Assistance Plan |
|
|
July 1, 2026 |
| IBR Plan (Current) |
|
July 1, 2026 | |
| Standard Repayment Plan |
|
July 1, 2026 | |
| Repayment Options for Parent PLUS & Consolidation Loans |
|
July 1, 2026 | |
| Loan Rehabilitation Terms |
|
July 1, 2027 | |
| Loan Deferment Options |
|
July 1, 2027 | |
| Loan Forbearance |
|
July 1, 2027 |