AFR Rates 2028: Not Yet Published (November 2026: 4.67%)

Updated October 30, 2026. Quick answer: The IRS has not published any applicable federal rate for 2028, or for any month after November 2026. Each month’s rates are determined during the month before it, so the first 2028 rates, for January, come in a ruling issued in December 2027. The most recent ruling, Rev. Rul. 2026-21, sets November 2026 at 4.67% short-term, 5.08% mid-term and 5.52% long-term, annual compounding. As of October 30, 2026 this page prints no 2027 or 2028 figure and no estimate.

How the IRS sets next month’s rate

Section 1274(d)(1)(B) has the Secretary determine the short-term, mid-term and long-term rates during one calendar month for the next: each is the “rate which shall apply during the following calendar month”. That is why a month’s rate is public before the month begins, and why any 2028 month is not out until the IRS issues its ruling during the month before it. For each of the eleven 2026 rate months published so far, the IRS’s copy of the ruling is dated between the 15th and the 21st of the month before the rate month, shown below as the IRS server reports it.

The 2026 path, month by month

Eleven of the twelve 2026 rates are published, and no 2027 month is. The 2026 record is the only year of rulings that exists. Annual-compounding AFR for each, and the section 7520 rate from the same ruling’s Table 5:

Across those eleven months the short-term rate ran from 3.56% (February) to 4.67% (November). That is a record of 2026, not a forecast of 2028.

What a January 2028 loan or sale reads

For a sale or exchange, section 1274(d)(2) uses “the lowest of the applicable Federal rates in effect for any month in the 3-calendar-month period ending with the 1st calendar month in which there is a binding contract in writing for such sale or exchange”. A January 2028 contract therefore looks back to November 2027 and December 2027, and to January 2028 itself. None of the three is published. The month-by-month detail for the nearest months is on the November 2027 page and the December 2027 page.

Which tier a loan uses

The applicable federal rate comes from section 1274(d) and depends on the term of the debt instrument. Section 1274(d)(1)(A) sets the tier: “Not over 3 years” takes the short-term rate, “Over 3 years but not over 9 years” the mid-term rate and “Over 9 years” the long-term rate. The loan mechanics, including the dollar exceptions, are on the family loan minimum interest rate page, and the calculator turns a rate into dollars.

Common mistakes

• Using a 2026 rate for a loan made in 2028. Each month has its own ruling.
• Treating a rate quoted for a 2027 or 2028 month before the IRS has published it as official. None is published yet.
• Reading the section 7520 rate as an AFR tier. It is a separate figure in the same ruling.
• Assuming the rate always moves in one direction. The eleven published 2026 months include a fall and a rise.

Related: the 2027 AFR rates, December 2027 AFR rates, AFR rates by month, the 2026 AFR table, and the family loan minimum interest rate.

Sources

• Rev. Rul. 2026-2, Table 1 and Table 5 (January 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-02.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-3, Table 1 and Table 5 (February 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-03.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-6, Table 1 and Table 5 (March 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-06.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-7, Table 1 and Table 5 (April 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-07.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-9, Table 1 and Table 5 (May 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-09.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-11, Table 1 and Table 5 (June 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-11.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-12, Table 1 and Table 5 (July 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-12.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-13, Table 1 and Table 5 (August 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-13.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-17, Table 1 and Table 5 (September 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-17.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-19, Table 1 and Table 5 (October 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-19.pdf
• Rev. Rul. 2026-21, Table 1 and Table 5 (November 2026): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-26-21.pdf
• 26 U.S.C. 1274, determination of issue price in the case of certain debt instruments (GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/26/1274
• IRS, Section 7520 interest rates: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/section-7520-interest-rates

Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 30, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.