Education & College Aid

Might I qualify for a Pell Grant?

Pell Grant Eligibility & Estimator

Explore whether you may qualify for a Federal Pell Grant and estimate your potential award using the applicable financial aid rules.

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Independent educational calculator, not a government agency. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. Results are estimates.

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Quick Pell Grant Estimate

A few questions instead of the whole FAFSA, for a first, rough figure. The 2027–28 FAFSA asks about 2025 income.

Whose income goes on the FAFSA?

My parents' (dependent student) My own (independent student)

Most students under 24 are dependent, even if they live on their own. Who counts as independent

Parents' income in 2025

Adjusted gross income from your parents' 2025 tax return (Form 1040, line 11). A round number is fine.

Parents on the FAFSA

People in your parents' household, including you

Count the people the household supports, such as brothers and sisters or your own children.

How much you will enroll

Part-time students receive a share of the full-time award.

More details (optional)

Parents' savings and investments (optional)

Cash, savings, checking and investments. Not the home you live in or retirement accounts. Leave blank if none.

Your own income in 2025 (optional)

Adjusted gross income from your own 2025 return. Leave blank if none.

State

Alaska and Hawaii have higher poverty guidelines for the Pell Grant income tests.

Calculations run in your browser. The amounts you enter are not sent anywhere, and Reset clears them.

Your Quick Estimate

Enter an income and choose See My Estimate. After that, the estimate changes as you change the answers.

Estimate Your Pell Grant

Award year and studies

Award year

The 2026–27 FAFSA uses 2024 tax information and the 2027–28 FAFSA uses 2025 tax information. The 2027–28 award amounts have not been announced, so that year shows pathways without dollar amounts.

Student's studies in that year

Pell Grants go to undergraduates who have not earned a bachelor's, graduate or professional degree. A few programs are exceptions, which a school's financial aid office can confirm.

Dependency status

These are the FAFSA's dependency questions. Answer yes if any part of a question applies.

Was the student born before January 1, 2003?

Is the student married and not separated?

Is the student on active duty in the U.S. armed forces for purposes other than training, or a veteran?

Does the student have children or other dependents who get more than half of their support from the student?

At any time since age 13, were both of the student's parents deceased, or was the student in foster care or a dependent or ward of the court?

Was the student an emancipated minor or in a legal guardianship decided by a court, now or right before reaching adulthood?

Has a school district liaison, shelter director, or other authorized official determined the student to be an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or at risk of being homeless?

If none of these applies, the student is dependent and the parents' information is used. The official FAFSA process decides dependency, and a financial aid office can review it in unusual circumstances, so the official result may differ.

Household

Parents' marital status

The parents whose information goes on the FAFSA.

Did this parent file the 2024 federal tax return as head of household or qualifying surviving spouse, or receive the Earned Income Tax Credit?

Federal student aid counts an unmarried parent as a single parent only in these cases. It decides which income lines the Pell Grant tests use.

Did the student file the 2024 federal tax return as head of household or qualifying surviving spouse, or receive the Earned Income Tax Credit?

Federal student aid counts an unmarried parent as a single parent only in these cases. It decides which income lines the Pell Grant tests use.

Family size

Did the parents file a 2024 federal income tax return?

A family that was not required to file meets the maximum Pell Grant criteria.

Did the student, or the student and spouse, file a 2024 federal income tax return?

A family that was not required to file meets the maximum Pell Grant criteria.

State of legal residence

School, enrollment and other details

These change the amount more often than the pathway. The two questions without an optional label need an answer.

The school's cost of attendance for the year (optional)

Leave blank if you don't know it. Use the school's official figure for a full-time student for a full academic year, not your own tuition estimate. A Pell Grant can't be more than this cost.

Enrollment (optional)

Leave blank to estimate full-time enrollment. A school measures enrollment intensity as a share of full-time: 9 credits in a 12-credit term is 75%.

Share of full-time, in percent

A whole percent from 1 to 99. For example, 7 credits in a 12-credit term is 58%.

Will grants and scholarships from sources other than the federal government cover the student's whole cost of attendance?

Starting with 2026–27, a student can't receive a Pell Grant for a period in which those grants and scholarships equal or exceed the cost of attendance.

Lifetime Pell Grant eligibility used, in percent (optional)

Leave blank if the student has never received a Pell Grant. The figure is in the student's StudentAid.gov account; the limit is 600%, about 12 full-time semesters.

Did a parent or guardian of the student die in the line of duty while on active duty in the U.S. armed forces on or after September 11, 2001, or while serving as a public safety officer?

This is the Pell Grant Special Rule. A school confirms it with documents.

Was the student under 33 on January 1, 2026?

Seven short steps. Choose the award year first: each year has its own rules and amounts. Every field is required unless it says optional.

Calculations run in your browser. The amounts you enter are not sent anywhere, and Reset clears them.

Your Estimated Pell Grant Eligibility

Your estimate appears here after the review step. Nothing is shown until every required answer is in.

Your Estimated Award

An annual amount appears here when the award year's figures are published and the answers allow one.

Assumptions

The student meets the other Pell Grant requirements, such as enrollment in an eligible program and the general requirements for federal student aid.
The answers here match what the FAFSA will report.
Year-round Pell, which can pay up to 150% of the scheduled award in an award year, is not included.

What could change the actual award

The school's own cost of attendance and how it measures enrollment intensity.
The terms or payment periods the student actually attends, and any changes in enrollment.
Pell eligibility already used, verification, and corrections to the FAFSA.
A financial aid administrator's review of special circumstances.

What you can do next

Check the figures you entered

This estimate works only from what you typed in. Going back over those figures against your own paperwork is the quickest way to change the answer.
Complete the official FAFSA

There is no separate Pell Grant application. The FAFSA form decides eligibility, and the schools you list receive the result.
Ask the school's financial aid office

Only the school sets your award, from its cost of attendance and your enrollment. It can also review circumstances that changed.

How This Estimate Was Calculated

This calculator provides an educational estimate based on the information you entered. The U.S. Department of Education determines official FAFSA results, and your school determines your actual financial aid award. Your eligibility and award may differ based on additional information and applicable federal rules.

Ready to Apply for Federal Student Aid?

Complete the official FAFSA to have your federal student aid eligibility evaluated. BenefitCalculators.com does not submit FAFSA applications or award grants.

Complete the Official FAFSA Learn About Federal Pell Grants

BenefitCalculators.com is an independent educational site, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education or Federal Student Aid. File the official FAFSA at StudentAid.gov.

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Benefits & Updates

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Latest articles and important updates to help you understand and make the most of your benefits.

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A quick estimate from five answers, or every question in seven short steps.

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Educational Tool

Built on the federal Pell Grant rules for each award year, with every step shown.

Who May Qualify for a Pell Grant?

Pell Grant eligibility is not decided by income alone. The FAFSA reads the student's dependency status, family size, tax filing status, adjusted gross income, the federal poverty guidelines and the Student Aid Index (SAI), and the student must also be an undergraduate without a bachelor's degree who meets the general requirements for federal student aid.

A student may meet the criteria for a Pell Grant in three ways. Each one is explained below, and this estimator checks all three for the award year you choose.

How the Pell Grant Estimate Works

Maximum Pell Grant: the year's top award. A student may meet its criteria when the family was not required to file a federal tax return; when income for the Pell tests (adjusted gross income plus foreign earned income excluded from tax) is above zero and no more than 225% of the poverty guideline for a single parent, or 175% for anyone else; when the SAI is at or below zero; or under the Special Rule.
Calculated Pell Grant: the year's maximum award minus the SAI, rounded to the nearest $5, when that result is at least the minimum award. For 2026–27, an SAI of 1,004 gives $7,395 − 1,004 = $6,391, which rounds to $6,390.
Minimum Pell Grant: for a student whose calculated award would fall below the minimum, but whose family's income for the Pell tests is no more than 325% of the poverty guideline (a dependent student's single parent), 275% (other parents of dependent students), 400% (an independent single parent), 350% (other independent students with dependents) or 275% (independent students without dependents), and whose SAI is below twice the maximum award.

An SAI at or above twice the maximum award, $14,790 for 2026–27, ends Pell Grant eligibility for the year, except under the Special Rule. Starting with 2026–27, a student whose grants and scholarships from non-federal sources equal or exceed the cost of attendance can't receive a Pell Grant for that period.

The scheduled award is the amount for full-time enrollment for a full academic year, and it can't be more than the school's cost of attendance. The annual award is the scheduled award times the student's enrollment intensity, so a student enrolled at 75% of full-time generally receives 75% of it. A student can receive Pell Grants up to a lifetime limit of 600%, about 12 full-time semesters.

The maximum award is set by each year's appropriation, and the minimum is 10% of the maximum, rounded to the nearest $5.

Sources: GEN-26-01, the 2026–27 award amounts; FSA Handbook, Calculating Pell Grants; the 2027–28 SAI and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide.

What Affects Pell Grant Eligibility

These are the answers that move a student between pathways, or change the amount:

Dependency status: a dependent student's tests use the parents' income and household; an independent student's use the student's and any spouse's.
Family size and state: the poverty guideline grows with family size, and Alaska and Hawaii have higher guidelines.
Single-parent status: an unmarried parent who filed as head of household or qualifying surviving spouse, or received the Earned Income Tax Credit, gets the higher income lines.
Adjusted gross income from the tax return two years before the award year, plus foreign earned income excluded from tax.
The SAI: at or below zero it meets the maximum award's criteria, and above zero it sets a Calculated Pell Grant.
Enrollment intensity, the cost of attendance and lifetime eligibility used, which change the amount rather than the pathway.

What to Do Next

Use this estimate to plan, then let the official process decide.

Gather the tax return the FAFSA asks about: 2024 for 2026–27, or 2025 for 2027–28.
Complete the official FAFSA at StudentAid.gov. It is free, and it is the only application for a Pell Grant.
Read your FAFSA Submission Summary for the official SAI and any Pell Grant information.
Ask each school's financial aid office how it will award a Pell Grant for your enrollment and cost of attendance.

Before you have an SAI, estimate one with the FAFSA & SAI Estimator. When an offer arrives, weigh grants against loans with the College Financial Aid Calculator.

Important Disclaimer

This estimator checks the federal Pell Grant pathways only. It does not model Year-round Pell, payment periods, clock-hour or non-term programs, workforce programs, prison education programs, or a school's own review, and it assumes the student meets the general eligibility requirements. Where an answer cannot be modeled, the official result may differ.

Pell Grant Amounts by Award Year

Award year	2026–27	2027–28
Maximum award	$7,395	Not announced
Minimum award	$740	Not announced
SAI limit	14,790	Twice the maximum
Tax and poverty-guideline year	2024	2025

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Federal Pell Grant?

A Federal Pell Grant is federal money for college that usually does not have to be repaid. It goes to undergraduate students with financial need who have not earned a bachelor's, graduate or professional degree, and students apply through the FAFSA form. For 2026–27 the maximum award is $7,395.

How can I estimate my Pell Grant eligibility?

Start with the quick estimate: whose income goes on the FAFSA, that income, the household and how much you will enroll give an estimated SAI and award. For a closer look, the full form asks about the award year, dependency, household, income and, if you have it, the SAI, and checks the maximum, minimum and calculated Pell Grant pathways. The FAFSA and your school make the official decision.

What income is considered for Pell Grant eligibility?

The maximum and minimum Pell Grant tests read adjusted gross income from the tax return two years before the award year (2024 for 2026–27), plus any foreign earned income excluded from tax. For a dependent student it is the parents' income; for an independent student, the student's and any spouse's. A Calculated Pell Grant uses the SAI instead, which also counts assets and family size.

Does the Student Aid Index affect Pell Grant eligibility?

Yes. An SAI at or below zero meets the maximum Pell Grant criteria. Above zero, the award is the maximum less the SAI if that reaches the minimum award, and an SAI at or above twice the maximum ($14,790 for 2026–27) ends eligibility for the year, except under the Special Rule.

What is the difference between Maximum Pell and Minimum Pell?

The Maximum Pell Grant is the year's top award, $7,395 for 2026–27, for students whose family was not required to file a tax return, whose income is within 175% or 225% of the poverty guideline, whose SAI is at or below zero, or who qualify under the Special Rule. The Minimum Pell Grant, $740 for 2026–27, is for students whose calculated award would fall below the minimum but whose income is within 275% to 400% of the guideline, depending on the family, and whose SAI is below twice the maximum.

What is a Calculated Pell Grant?

It is the award figured from the SAI: the year's maximum award minus the SAI, rounded to the nearest $5, when that result is at least the minimum award. For 2026–27, an SAI of 1,004 gives $6,390 for full-time enrollment for a full academic year, before any limit from the cost of attendance.

Can an independent student qualify for a Pell Grant?

Yes. An independent student's own income, and a spouse's, is used, with lines of 175% or 225% of the poverty guideline for the maximum award and 275%, 350% or 400% for the minimum, depending on whether the student has dependents and is a single parent.

Does a low SAI guarantee a Pell Grant?

No. A low SAI is one requirement. The student must also be an undergraduate without a bachelor's degree, be enrolled in an eligible program, have Pell eligibility left within the lifetime limit, and meet the general requirements for federal student aid, and the school sets the award.

Can a student receive Pell Grant assistance while attending part-time?

Yes. The award is adjusted for enrollment intensity: a student enrolled at 75% of full-time generally receives 75% of the scheduled award for the year. A student enrolled less than half-time may also have a smaller cost of attendance.

Does the cost of attendance affect a Pell Grant award?

Yes. A Pell Grant can't be more than the student's cost of attendance, so a lower cost holds the scheduled award down to it. Starting with 2026–27, a student whose grants and scholarships from non-federal sources equal or exceed the cost of attendance can't receive a Pell Grant for that period.

Can I estimate my Pell Grant without knowing my SAI?

Partly. Without an SAI, this estimator can check the maximum and minimum Pell Grant income tests, the filing rule and the Special Rule, but it can't estimate a Calculated Pell Grant. Our FAFSA & SAI Estimator can estimate a 2027–28 SAI, and your official SAI is on your FAFSA Submission Summary.

Is this an official FAFSA calculator?

No. BenefitCalculators.com is an independent educational site and is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education or Federal Student Aid. The official FAFSA form and the Federal Student Aid Estimator are on StudentAid.gov.

Where can I apply for a Pell Grant?

There is no separate Pell Grant application. Complete the FAFSA form at StudentAid.gov, and the schools you list use the result to award Pell Grants. The FAFSA is free.

Why might my actual Pell Grant award differ from this estimate?

The official result uses the FAFSA as processed, the school's cost of attendance and enrollment rules, the payment periods the student attends, Year-round Pell, lifetime eligibility used, verification and corrections, and the school's own review. The 2027–28 award amounts have not been announced.

Official Sources and Methodology

The pathways, limits and amounts come from these Federal Student Aid and HHS documents. The explanations on this page are this site's own; the official documents are the authority.

Methodology: the full form applies the award year's own pathways, poverty guidelines and amounts, in the order the guide and handbook use them, shows each step under the result, and computes no dollar amount for a year whose amounts are not published. The quick estimate works out a 2027–28 SAI from its few answers and, until the 2027–28 amounts are announced, prices it with the 2026–27 maximum and minimum, which it says beside the figure.

When the Department of Education publishes new amounts, tables or corrections, the calculation and this page are updated together. If you find an error, tell us through the About page.

Pell Grant Eligibility & Estimator

Quick Pell Grant Estimate

Your Quick Estimate

Estimate Your Pell Grant

Your Estimated Pell Grant Eligibility

Your Estimated Award

Assumptions

What could change the actual award

What you can do next

Check the figures you entered

Complete the official FAFSA

Ask the school's financial aid office

Ready to Apply for Federal Student Aid?

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Benefits & Updates

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Educational Tool

Who May Qualify for a Pell Grant?

How the Pell Grant Estimate Works

What Affects Pell Grant Eligibility

What to Do Next

Pell Grant Amounts by Award Year

Official Sources and Methodology