Turn your SAI into an estimated Pell award, with intensity and income shortcuts
Quick answer: for 2026-27, the maximum Pell Grant is $7,395. Full-time award = $7,395 if SAI ≤ 0; otherwise $7,395 − SAI, down to a ~$740 minimum (SAI 1,500 → $5,895; SAI 3,000 → $4,395; SAI 5,000 → $2,395; SAI above 6,655 → $0 by formula). Part-time prorates: half-time pays 50%. Two income shortcuts bypass the formula: parent AGI ≤ 175% of the poverty line (225% single parent) locks in the max; AGI ≤ 275% (325% single) can still earn the ~$740 minimum. Enter your numbers below.
Leave AGI at 0 to skip the shortcuts and use the SAI formula alone. Cutoffs use 2024 poverty guidelines (prior-prior year for 2026-27).
Estimate for planning, not your official award. Your school's financial aid office applies the official schedule, rounding rules, and cost of attendance; enrollment changes after disbursement can trigger recalculation. Nothing here is financial aid advice — see the FAFSA SAI calculator for the formula that produces your SAI.
| Your SAI | Full-time Pell award | Half-time (6-8 credits) | What's happening |
|---|---|---|---|
| −1,500 to 0 | $7,395 | $3,698 | Maximum award |
| 1,000 | $6,395 | $3,198 | Max − SAI |
| 2,000 | $5,395 | $2,698 | Max − SAI |
| 3,000 | $4,395 | $2,198 | Max − SAI |
| 4,000 | $3,395 | $1,698 | Max − SAI |
| 5,000 | $2,395 | $1,198 | Max − SAI |
| 6,000 | $1,395 | $698 | Max − SAI |
| 6,655 | $740 | $370 | Minimum award (10% of max) |
| 6,656 and up | $0 | $0 | No formula Pell (min-Pell AGI test may still qualify — see cutoffs) |
Awards shown rounded to whole dollars; the official minimum is exactly $739.50. Half-time = 50% of the full-time award, rounded. Every dollar of SAI below $7,395 buys a dollar of Pell — until the floor cuts it off at 6,655.
| Award year | Maximum (full-time) | 150% year-round cap | Minimum (10%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $7,395 | $11,092.50 | $739.50 |
| 2025-26 | $7,395 | $11,092.50 | $739.50 |
| 2024-25 | $7,395 | $11,092.50 | $739.50 |
| 2023-24 | $7,395 | $11,092.50 | $739.50 |
| 2022-23 | $6,895 | $10,342.50 | $689.50 |
| 2021-22 | $6,495 | $9,742.50 | $649.50 |
| 2020-21 | $6,345 | $9,517.50 | $634.50 |
The maximum has been flat at $7,395 since 2023-24. Year-round Pell (150%) means a max-eligibility student who enrolls in summer can collect up to $11,092.50 in one aid year; the lifetime cap is 600%, the equivalent of six full-time years or 12 semesters.
| Family size | Poverty line | Max Pell: single parent (225%) | Max Pell: two parents (175%) | Min Pell: two parents (275%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | $25,820 | $58,095 | $45,185 | $71,005 |
| 4 | $31,200 | $70,200 | $54,600 | $85,800 |
| 5 | $36,580 | $82,305 | $64,015 | $100,595 |
| 6 | $41,960 | $94,410 | $73,430 | $115,390 |
AGI at or below the cutoff qualifies for that shortcut regardless of the SAI formula (maximum: award locked to the full amount; minimum: at least $739.50 when the formula gives nothing). Alaska and Hawaii use higher guidelines. Single-parent minimum Pell uses 325%: $83,915 for a family of 3.
Pell eligibility became an arithmetic problem after FAFSA simplification: your SAI maps to an award through a published schedule, with two income shortcuts layered on top. This calculator runs that schedule — the same logic as our FAFSA SAI tool's Pell module — with enrollment prorating and cost-of-attendance caps added.
Full-time base award: SAI at or below 0 pays the maximum ($7,395 in 2026-27); SAI from 1 up pays maximum minus SAI, as long as the result stays at or above the 10% minimum ($739.50); SAI above 6,655 pays nothing by formula. Multiply by enrollment intensity — 100% at 12+ credits, 75% at 9-11, 50% at 6-8, credits ÷ 12 below that — and cap at your school's cost of attendance.
Parent AGI at or below 175% of the poverty line (225% for single parents) forces maximum Pell even when the formula disagrees. AGI up to 275% (325% single) can force the minimum award when the formula says zero. These exist because SAI can't go low enough for some family shapes — and because Congress wanted a bright line families could plan around.
A student with SAI 1,500, enrolled full-time: award = $7,395 − $1,500 = $5,895 for the year, about $2,947.50 per semester over two terms. Drop to half-time and it prorates to $2,948. Now a trickier case: family of four, two parents, AGI $50,000, and the formula produced SAI 7,800 — above the 6,655 line, so formula Pell is $0. But $50,000 is under the two-parent max-Pell cutoff of $54,600, so the shortcut locks in the full $7,395 anyway. This is why checking the income tests matters even when your SAI looks disqualifying.
Lifetime math: each year at a full $7,395 burns 100% of your 600% lifetime allowance, so six maximum years exhaust Pell entirely. Half-time years burn half as much, which is how part-time students stretch eligibility across more calendar time.
For 2026-27, your full-time Pell Grant is the $7,395 maximum if your SAI is 0 or below; otherwise it's $7,395 minus your SAI, down to a $740 minimum. So SAI 1,500 gets $5,895, SAI 3,000 gets $4,395, SAI 5,000 gets $2,395, and SAI above 6,655 gets $0 through the formula. Part-time awards prorate by enrollment intensity: half-time is 50% of the full-time award.
$7,395 for a full-time student, unchanged since 2023-24 (the max was $6,345 in 2020-21, $6,495 in 2021-22, $6,895 in 2022-23). With year-round Pell, a student can receive up to 150% of the award in one year — $11,092.50 for a maximum-eligibility student who attends summer. Over a lifetime, Pell is capped at 600%, the equivalent of six full-time years.
Two paths. The income shortcut: parent AGI at or below 175% of the poverty line (225% for single parents) automatically qualifies for maximum Pell — for a family of four that's $54,600 (single parent: $70,200) for 2026-27, using 2024 poverty guidelines. Or the formula path: any financial picture that produces SAI 0 or below, which happens at higher incomes than people expect once allowances are applied.
Only through the minimum-Pell income shortcut: if parent AGI is at or below 275% of the poverty line (325% for single parents) — $85,800 for a two-parent family of four in 2026-27 — the student qualifies for a minimum grant of about $740 even when the formula's SAI is above the Pell range. Otherwise SAI above 6,655 means no Pell, though institutional and state aid may still use the SAI directly.
Yes — awards prorate by enrollment intensity. 12+ credits pays 100%, 9-11 credits 75%, 6-8 credits 50%, and under 6 credits pays credits divided by 12 (3 credits = 25%). A student with SAI 1,500 gets $5,895 full-time but $2,948 at half-time. Year-round Pell also lets full-timers collect an extra award in summer, up to 150% of the annual max.
Yes — it's a federal grant, not a loan, and doesn't require repayment under normal circumstances. The exceptions all involve withdrawing: if you drop below half-time or leave school mid-term, a Return of Title IV Funds calculation can convert part of your Pell into money you owe. Stay enrolled at least through 60% of the term and the grant is entirely yours.