Financial GPS · for parents
Can I, the parent, afford it?
Parent PLUS under the rules for loans made after July 1, 2026: what you’d owe, what it costs to repay, and how much of your household’s income above basic expenses it takes.
Your answer
Start overUC San Diego · Parent PLUS at 9.07% · standard plan only · judged on the 10-year payment
$388 a month on the 10-year yardstick: 16.4% of your household income above basic expenses, High pressure.
Billed on the standard plan: $311 a month for 15 years, from about age 54 to 69, past retirement at 67.
You’d owe $30,530 when repayment starts, including the interest that builds while payments are deferred during school.
- 10-year payment
- $388/mo
- Share of income above basic expenses
- 16.4%High pressure
- Left each month, before tax
- $1,975 left
University of California-San Diego: Parent PLUS at 9.07% with a 4.228% fee taken from each disbursement. Basic expenses: $54,640 a year (200% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for a household of three).
Parent PLUS by year, against the new caps
- Parent PLUS
- Above the caps
Under the caps of $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student. You’d receive about $22,985 over four years after the fee.
If your student was enrolled and borrowing before July 1, 2026, the old limit (the full cost of attendance) applies through 2028–29 at the latest.
Payments against retirement
What UC San Diego’s price asks of Parent PLUS
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For a household of three: two adults and one child at home.
You’d receive about $5,746 a year after the 4.228% fee.
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How Parent PLUS works now
New Parent PLUS has no income-based plan and no Public Service Loan Forgiveness: the standard plan’s payment is the payment.
Its length depends on what you owe when repayment starts, including deferred interest: 10 years under $25,000, 15 under $50,000, 20 under $100,000, 25 above.
Already repaying Parent PLUS for an older child? A new loan moves those onto the new standard plan too.
Loans made from July 2027 can’t be paused for unemployment or hardship.
10-year payment at 2026-2027 federal rates (9.07% Parent PLUS, 4.228% fee): a yardstick, not a repayment plan. Interest builds from each disbursement while payments are deferred, and is added when repayment starts six months after the student leaves school. Basic expenses: 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for a household of three, a national figure that doesn’t reflect local costs. Net price: the school’s reported averages by family income, estimated between bands. Sources: College Scorecard via Azimuth; Federal Student Aid; HHS.