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Federal student loan interest rates 2026-27
The fixed rates on federal student loans first disbursed between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027: 6.52 percent for undergraduates, 8.07 for graduate students and 9.07 for PLUS loans, with the formula behind them and every year since 2013.
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The interest rate on a federal student loan is set by a formula in the Higher Education Act, once a year, and then fixed for the life of that loan. Every July 1 a new rate applies to loans disbursed in the year ahead; the loans you already have keep the rate they were made at. Federal Student Aid published this year's figures in the Federal Register on September 10, 2026.
For loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027, the rates are 6.52 percent for undergraduate Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, 8.07 percent for Direct Unsubsidized Loans to graduate and professional students, and 9.07 percent for Direct PLUS Loans, whether the borrower is a parent or a graduate student.
The formula is public. The rate is the high yield of the 10-year Treasury note at the last auction before June 1, plus an add-on set by statute, capped by a statutory maximum. The May 12, 2026 auction produced a high yield of 4.468 percent, rounded to 4.47. The add-ons are 2.05 points for undergraduate loans, 3.60 for graduate unsubsidized loans and 4.60 for PLUS loans, and the caps are 8.25, 9.50 and 10.50 percent, well above this year's results.
Older loans work differently. Direct Loans first disbursed before July 1, 2006, and loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, which stopped making new loans on June 30, 2010, carry variable rates that are reset every July 1. Those rates are built on the 91-day Treasury bill auctioned on May 26, 2026, a bond equivalent rate of 3.678 percent rounded to 3.68, or on the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield for the week ending on or before June 26, 2026, which was 3.99 percent, each plus an add-on and each under its own cap. A FFEL Stafford loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 1998 is at 5.38 percent in school, grace or deferment and 5.98 percent otherwise.
What you pay each month is a separate question from the rate: student loan repayment and the Repayment Assistance Plan covers the plan that new borrowers land on, and the July 1, 2028 date that moves everyone else.
Swipe sideways to see every column.
| First disbursed | Undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized (%) | Graduate unsubsidized (%) | PLUS (%) | Federal Register notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | 6.52 | 8.07 | 9.07 | 91 FR 57581 (September 10, 2026) |
| July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 | 6.39 | 7.94 | 8.94 | 91 FR 10084 (March 2, 2026) |
| July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025 | 6.53 | 8.08 | 9.08 | 89 FR 68878 (August 28, 2024) |
| July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 | 5.5 | 7.05 | 8.05 | 88 FR 82863 (November 27, 2023) |
| July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 | 4.99 | 6.54 | 7.54 | 87 FR 50326 (August 16, 2022) |
| July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 | 3.73 | 5.28 | 6.28 | 86 FR 44003 (August 11, 2021) |
| July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 | 2.75 | 4.3 | 5.3 | 85 FR 48229 (August 10, 2020) |
| July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 | 4.53 | 6.08 | 7.08 | 85 FR 2417 (January 15, 2020) |
| July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 | 5.05 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 83 FR 53864 (October 25, 2018) |
| July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 | 4.45 | 6 | 7 | 82 FR 29062 (June 27, 2017) |
| July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 | 3.76 | 5.31 | 6.31 | 81 FR 38159 (June 13, 2016) |
| July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016 | 4.29 | 5.84 | 6.84 | 80 FR 42488 (July 17, 2015) |
| July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015 | 4.66 | 6.21 | 7.21 | 79 FR 37301 (July 1, 2014) |
| July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014 | 3.86 | 5.41 | 6.41 | 78 FR 59011 (September 25, 2013) |
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FactFiled, “Federal student loan interest rates 2026-27,” last verified September 16, 2026, https://factfiled.com/money/trackers/federal-student-loan-interest-rates
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What to do
- Check the first disbursement date on the loan, not the year you enrolled. That date decides which year’s rate you carry, and for loans since July 2006 it does not change afterwards. studentaid.gov
- For a loan taken out for this academic year, budget on 6.52 percent as an undergraduate, 8.07 as a graduate student and 9.07 on a PLUS loan. govinfo.gov
- If your loans date from before July 2006, or are FFEL loans, expect the rate to move every July 1; the two variable-rate notices give the formula for each loan type. govinfo.gov
- The rate is not the monthly payment. Which repayment plan you are on decides that, and a new borrower who picks nothing is enrolled in the fixed-payment Tiered Standard Plan.
Questions readers ask
- What is the federal student loan interest rate for 2026-27?
- For loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027, the fixed rate is 6.52 percent for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans to undergraduates, 8.07 percent for Direct Unsubsidized Loans to graduate and professional students, and 9.07 percent for Direct PLUS Loans. Each rate is fixed for the life of the loan.
- How is the rate set?
- By a formula in section 455(b) of the Higher Education Act. The rate is the high yield of the 10-year Treasury note at the final auction before June 1, plus a statutory add-on: 2.05 points for undergraduate loans, 3.60 for graduate unsubsidized loans and 4.60 for PLUS loans. The May 12, 2026 auction gave 4.468 percent, rounded to 4.47. Each loan type also has a cap, 8.25, 9.50 and 10.50 percent, and this year no rate came near one.
- Does my rate change after I borrow?
- Not for a loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 2006. That rate is fixed for the life of the loan, so a new rate each July applies only to new loans. Loans disbursed before July 1, 2006, and loans made under the older FFEL Program, are variable and are reset every July 1.
- What is the rate on my old variable-rate loan?
- It depends on the loan type and when it was first disbursed. Most are the 91-day Treasury bill rate plus an add-on: the bill auctioned on May 26, 2026 gave 3.678 percent, rounded to 3.68. Loans tied to the one-year constant maturity Treasury yield use 3.99 percent for this year. A FFEL Stafford loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 1998 is at 5.38 percent while in school, in grace or in deferment and 5.98 percent in any other status.
- Is the parent PLUS rate different from the graduate PLUS rate?
- No. The notice gives one Direct PLUS rate, 9.07 percent for 2026-27, for parents of dependent undergraduates and for graduate and professional students alike. Note that the 2025 budget law ends new graduate and professional PLUS loans; the repayment page covers that change.
- Where do these figures come from?
- Three notices Federal Student Aid published in the Federal Register on September 10, 2026: one for fixed-rate Direct Loans, one for variable-rate Direct Loans and one for variable-rate FFEL loans. Each is linked in the sources on this page, and the table gives the Federal Register citation for every year back to 2013.
Background: Student loan repayment: the Repayment Assistance Plan, and the 2028 deadline
How we reported this
Built from the documents in the Source Card. Opened on September 16, 2026 with the 2026-27 rates from the Federal Student Aid notices of September 10.
This page reports figures and dates from the agency documents it cites. It is not tax, benefits or financial advice; the agency’s own notice controls if the two ever differ, and a decision about your own situation belongs with the agency or a qualified professional.
Written by Mirza Seraj Baig · Checked against the documents in the source card (editorial standards).
Updates
- Opened with the fixed rates for loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 (6.52, 8.07 and 9.07 percent), the fixed-rate history back to 2013 and the variable rates for older Direct and FFEL loans, all from the three Federal Register notices of September 10, 2026.