Why Is My Mortgage Company Holding My Insurance Check? How Loss-Draft Funds Are Released

Your homeowners insurance company can approve an $80,000 claim and your mortgage company can still control when much of that $80,000 reaches you.

That sounds contradictory until you separate two different decisions.

The insurance company determines what it owes for the covered loss. The mortgage system can separately control how certain insurance proceeds are used and released because the damaged house is also collateral securing a loan.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains that insurance settlements on mortgaged homes are generally made payable to both the homeowner and the mortgage servicer or lender. The servicer will typically release some money before repairs begin, more as the work progresses, and the remainder after completion and inspection.

That basic explanation is correct. It is also only the beginning.

The amount your mortgage company can release, the documents it can require, whether inspections are needed, whether the held money earns interest, and how quickly funds must move can depend on several different rulebooks:

• your mortgage or deed of trust;
• the company servicing the loan;
• the investor or guarantor that owns or backs the mortgage;
• the status of the loan at the time of the loss;
• what part of the insurance policy produced the money; and
• state law.

There is no single nationwide rule saying every mortgage company must release every insurance check within a fixed number of days.

That means the most useful question is not simply, "Why is my mortgage company holding my insurance check?"

It is:

Which rules govern my insurance money, and what do those rules actually require?

This article provides general U.S. consumer information, not individualized legal advice. Mortgage contracts, loan programs and state laws can differ.

First: determine what kind of insurance money is being held

One of the easiest mistakes is treating every dollar from a homeowners claim as one undifferentiated "insurance check."

It may not be.

A major property claim can include several separate coverage buckets, including:

For mortgages owned by Fannie Mae, this distinction is explicit. Fannie’s current Insured Loss Events servicing rule tells servicers to immediately issue the borrower a check for insurance proceeds designated for contents or living expenses. Fannie separately regulates money being held for repair of the mortgaged property.

That does not mean every mortgage in America follows the Fannie rule. It means a homeowner should identify the coverage source before accepting a generic answer that "the mortgage company can hold the insurance money."

If your servicer is holding funds that the insurer specifically designated as personal-property or additional-living-expense proceeds, ask the servicer to identify the rule or contract provision it believes allows that treatment.

Why is the mortgage company on the insurance check?

Because an unrepaired house can leave the mortgage lender or investor with damaged collateral.

Imagine a house with a substantial mortgage suffers $150,000 in covered structural damage. The insurer pays the claim. If the entire structural settlement were handed over as unrestricted cash and the homeowner did not repair the property, the mortgage debt could remain while the property securing that debt became worth much less.

Mortgage documents therefore commonly give the lender rights over insurance proceeds connected to damage to the real property.

A useful real-world example appears in the California Court of Appeal’s decision in Gray v. Quicken Loans. The deed of trust in that case provided that insurance proceeds would generally be used to restore or repair the property when economically feasible and when the lender’s security would not be impaired. It also allowed the lender to hold the proceeds during reconstruction, inspect the work, and disburse the money either at once or through progress payments.

Your own mortgage documents control your contract, so read the property-insurance or loss-proceeds section rather than assuming every loan contains identical language.

The important conceptual point is simpler:

The insurer’s decision that it owes you money and the mortgage servicer’s decision about how structural proceeds are released are separate processes.

What is a mortgage loss draft?

"Loss draft" is the mortgage-servicing term commonly used for insurance proceeds connected to damage to a mortgaged property.

A typical process looks something like this:

1. The insurer evaluates the covered damage.
2. A structural claim payment is issued jointly to the homeowner and mortgage company, or otherwise enters the servicer’s loss-draft process.
3. The servicer collects documents such as the insurance estimate, contractor bid, repair plan, permits or lien-related paperwork when applicable.
4. An initial portion of the funds is released.
5. Additional money is released as work reaches required stages.
6. The servicer may inspect or otherwise verify repair progress.
7. Remaining funds are released when the applicable requirements are satisfied.

The exact sequence varies.

Terms such as "monitored claim," "loss-draft threshold," "draw schedule" and "final inspection" may reflect a particular investor’s rules, a servicer’s procedures, the amount of the claim, the loan’s delinquency status, or some combination of those factors. There is no single national dollar threshold that turns every insurance claim into a monitored loss draft.

Your mortgage servicer may not own your mortgage

This distinction is critical.

The company that sends your mortgage statement and receives your monthly payment is the servicer. It may or may not be the entity that owns the mortgage loan.

The CFPB explains that mortgage ownership and servicing are often different. A loan can be serviced by one company while being owned by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or another investor.

That matters because investor servicing requirements can shape what the servicer is permitted or required to do with insurance proceeds.

You can check the two major conventional mortgage investors directly:

• Fannie Mae Loan Lookup Tool
• Freddie Mac Loan Look-Up Tool

You can also ask your servicer who owns the loan. The CFPB says a servicer must provide, to the best of its knowledge, the name, address and telephone number of the loan owner when properly requested.

This is why "my mortgage company’s policy" is sometimes an incomplete explanation. The servicer may be implementing requirements imposed by the entity that owns the mortgage.

How much can a mortgage company release at first?

There is no universal national percentage.

But Fannie Mae provides an unusually clear example of how detailed the governing rules can become.

Under Fannie’s current B-5-01 Insured Loss Events rule, the servicer looks at the mortgage’s status at the time of the loss event.

Fannie Mae: loan current or less than 31 days delinquent at the time of loss

The servicer is authorized to make an initial disbursement up to the greater of:

• $40,000;
• 33% of the insurance loss proceeds; or
• the amount by which the applicable release funds exceed the unpaid principal balance, accrued interest and advances on the mortgage.

Remaining funds may then be disbursed based on periodic inspections of repair progress.

If multiple disbursements are required, the servicer must review the final repair plans and necessary bids and monitor the repairs. Fannie states that a final inspection is not required for this current-or-less-than-31-days-delinquent category.

Fannie Mae: loan 31 days or more delinquent at the time of loss

The framework becomes more restrictive.

If insurance proceeds are $5,000 or less, the servicer is authorized to disburse them in one payment.

If proceeds are more than $5,000, the servicer is authorized to make an initial disbursement of 25% of the total proceeds, but that initial payment may not exceed the greater of:

• $10,000; or
• the applicable excess over the unpaid principal balance, accrued interest and advances.

Remaining funds may be disbursed in increments no greater than 25% of the insurance proceeds after repair inspections. In this delinquent category, Fannie requires a final inspection.

Fannie loss-draft rules at a glance

An $80,000 example shows why this matters

Suppose two homeowners each have $80,000 in structural insurance proceeds, and in both cases the outstanding mortgage debt is greater than the insurance proceeds.

For a Fannie-owned mortgage that was current or less than 31 days delinquent at the time of loss:

• $40,000 = one possible measure;
• 33% of $80,000 = $26,400;
• there is no positive excess over the larger mortgage debt in this simplified example.

The greater figure is $40,000, so the servicer is authorized under this framework to release up to $40,000 initially.

For an otherwise similar Fannie mortgage that was 31 days or more delinquent at the time of loss:

• 25% of $80,000 = $20,000;
• but the initial payment is subject to the separate cap based on the greater of $10,000 or the applicable excess over the mortgage debt.

With no positive excess in this example, that can reduce the authorized initial amount to $10,000.

Same $80,000 insured loss. Very different servicing framework.

Important: "Authorized to release up to" is not the same as "the borrower is automatically entitled to the maximum amount immediately." Fannie’s guide sets a servicing framework. The actual disbursement still depends on the applicable requirements and facts of the claim.

The date of your delinquency status matters

For the Fannie framework above, the relevant question is not merely:

Am I current on the mortgage today?

It is:

What was the mortgage’s status at the time of the loss event?

That detail can matter after a wildfire, hurricane or other disaster where a borrower falls behind after the property damage occurs.

A homeowner who became delinquent later should not automatically assume that the 31-days-or-more-delinquent loss-draft framework applies. Conversely, catching up on payments after the loss does not necessarily rewrite the loan’s status at the moment Fannie’s rule uses for classification.

If the difference matters to your claim, ask the servicer to state in writing which loan-status category it is using and the date on which it determined that status.

Can the mortgage company require inspections before releasing more money?

Often, yes, depending on the governing mortgage and servicing rules.

The basic logic is straightforward: if structural insurance money is being released to restore collateral, the servicer wants evidence that restoration is actually occurring.

Fannie’s current rule requires monitoring and repair inspections when applicable before later disbursements. But an inspection does not always mean someone must physically visit the property.

For Fannie-owned mortgages that were current or less than 31 days delinquent at the time of loss, the servicing guide permits qualifying remote inspections using borrower-submitted photos or video, or a servicer-directed video call, when Fannie’s authentication and repair-verification conditions are met.

That is worth asking about if an in-person inspection is creating an unnecessary bottleneck.

What if your contractor wants more money than the servicer released?

This is one of the most frustrating real-world parts of the loss-draft system.

Your contractor may use a payment schedule such as 30% or 50% upfront. Your servicer may use a completely different draw schedule tied to investor rules and verified repair progress.

Neither schedule automatically controls the other.

Before signing a major construction contract, compare the contractor’s payment schedule with the mortgage servicer’s loss-draft schedule. A homeowner can otherwise end up contractually owing a contractor money that the servicer has not yet released.

For qualifying Fannie claims, there is an additional wrinkle: Fannie’s guide authorizes reimbursement from insurance proceeds when a borrower has already advanced payments to a contractor or bought materials and provides paid receipts. Fannie says receipts are not necessary under that particular provision when the loss proceeds are $40,000 or less.

That does not mean homeowners should casually front large sums. It means the investor rule itself recognizes that repair cash flow and mortgage draws do not always line up perfectly.

How long can a mortgage company hold an insurance check?

There is no single nationwide answer such as 10 days, 30 days or 60 days that applies to every mortgage loss draft in the United States.

The CFPB’s national consumer guidance describes staged disbursement but does not establish one universal loss-draft release deadline for every mortgage and every state.

State law can add specific deadlines.

Texas shows why a national deadline would be misleading

The Texas Department of Insurance states that when a mortgage company receives the insurance claim payment, it must contact the homeowner within 10 days. Once the homeowner has met the mortgage company’s requirements, the mortgage company has 10 days to send the money.

Texas consumer-protection guidance also states that after a borrower requests the funds, the lender must within 10 days either release the money or explain in specific detail what remains unsatisfied. If the lender fails to provide the required notices or fails to pay after the requirements have been met, the Texas rules describe interest at 10% per year from the time the required payment or notice was due.

That is a state-specific rule. It should not be copied into an article as though every homeowner in the country has the same 10-day right.

Do not confuse a mortgage information-request deadline with a loss-draft release deadline

Federal mortgage-servicing rules can help you force the servicer to explain what it is doing, but they should not be misquoted as a universal deadline for releasing insurance proceeds.

The CFPB explains that for many closed-end mortgages, a properly sent written Request for Information generally must be acknowledged within five days, excluding weekends and legal public holidays, and generally answered within 30 days, with different timing for certain requests. A request for the identity of the mortgage owner generally has a 10-day response deadline. See the CFPB’s guide to requesting information or disputing a mortgage-servicing error and the current Regulation X request-for-information rule.

Those are response deadlines for servicing inquiries, not a blanket federal command that every loss draft must be paid within 30 days.

That distinction matters.

Does your insurance money earn interest while the mortgage company holds it?

Sometimes it must.

Again, the answer depends on the governing rules.

Fannie Mae requires an interest-bearing account

For insurance loss proceeds not yet disbursed, Fannie’s B-5-01 servicing rule requires the servicer to place the funds in an interest-bearing account for the borrower’s benefit.

Fannie says the account must yield interest equivalent to what the borrower could expect from a savings or money-market account. Accumulated interest is generally paid to the borrower once repairs are completed, although the borrower may request an earlier disbursement and applicable law can affect treatment in some circumstances.

So for a Fannie-owned mortgage, "the servicer is holding the money" does not mean the servicer is simply free to keep the economic benefit of that balance.

California now requires at least 2% simple interest for covered loss-draft accounts

California created a particularly clear state rule in 2025.

Assembly Bill 493, effective August 29, 2025 as an urgency statute, added Civil Code §2954.85. For covered financial institutions holding hazard-insurance proceeds in a loss-draft account pending repair or rebuilding of a one- to four-family residential property in California, the statute requires at least 2% simple interest per year, subject to its stated exception.

For funds already in a covered loss-draft account when the law took effect, the statute says interest began accruing on August 29, 2025.

The Legislature was not merely restating old California law. In 2021, the California Court of Appeal held in Gray v. Quicken Loans that the older Civil Code §2954.8 escrow-interest statute did not apply to hazard-insurance proceeds held during rebuilding under the mortgage at issue. California later enacted §2954.85 specifically addressing these loss-draft funds.

As of October 5, 2026, the 2% minimum is already law. A newly enacted amendment, AB 1278, was signed September 30, 2026 and is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027. It expands the permitted mechanics for paying accrued interest directly to the borrower rather than only crediting it to the loss-draft account.

The larger lesson is national: do not assume the interest rules are uniform from state to state.

Can a mortgage company hold personal-property insurance money?

Do not assume structural proceeds, contents proceeds and living-expense payments are governed identically.

For a Fannie-owned mortgage, the answer is unusually clear: Fannie’s current servicing guide directs the servicer to immediately issue the borrower proceeds designated for contents or living expenses.

For a loan governed by a different investor, guarantor or contract, check that specific rulebook.

If the money being held includes personal-property or living-expense proceeds, ask for a breakdown showing exactly:

• how much the insurer designated for dwelling repairs;
• how much was designated for personal property;
• how much was designated for additional living expenses; and
• which authority the servicer is relying on for each amount it continues to hold.

This can turn an argument about "my insurance check" into a much more precise servicing question.

What if the insurance proceeds are more than the mortgage balance?

Do not assume the simple answer is "anything above the mortgage balance belongs to me immediately."

The relationship between the insurance proceeds, mortgage debt and repair obligations depends on the governing contract and servicing rules.

Fannie’s current initial-disbursement formulas expressly consider the amount by which the relevant funds exceed the unpaid principal balance plus accrued interest and advances. That can increase the amount the servicer is authorized to release.

But a claim that exceeds the loan balance may still involve repair obligations, insurance-policy restrictions, mortgage terms and other requirements. The safest approach is to ask the servicer for the written calculation it used rather than relying on a generic excess-proceeds rule found online.

What if you do not want to rebuild?

The ordinary progress-draw process assumes the property is going to be repaired or restored.

If the property cannot legally be rebuilt, or if the borrower does not intend to repair it, the treatment can change substantially.

Fannie’s insured-loss rule, for example, directs servicers to apply proceeds toward mortgage debt when a property cannot legally be rebuilt. It has separate procedures when a borrower does not intend to repair the property and for situations involving workouts, short sales, Mortgage Releases or foreclosure.

This is another reason not to extrapolate the ordinary draw schedule to every major-loss scenario.

What should you ask your mortgage servicer right now?

If your mortgage company is holding an insurance check, stop asking only, "When will you give me my money?"

Ask questions that identify the governing rule and the remaining condition.

1. Who owns or backs my mortgage?
2. What written loss-draft guidelines apply to this loan?
3. What was my loan status at the time of the loss event?
4. How much of the insurance payment is dwelling coverage, personal-property coverage and additional-living-expense coverage?
5. What amount are you authorized to release initially, and what rule or calculation produced that number?
6. Exactly which documents or conditions remain outstanding?
7. What repair percentage or milestone triggers the next disbursement?
8. Is an inspection required? If so, can photos, video or a remote inspection satisfy it?
9. Where are the unreleased funds being held?
10. Are they earning interest? At what rate, under what rule, and when will that interest be paid or credited?
11. Does my state impose a separate deadline for release after I satisfy the requirements?
12. What is the servicer’s escalation process if I believe all requirements have already been met?

Ask for the answers in writing when the amount is significant or the process has stalled.

What if the mortgage company won’t release the insurance funds?

Phone calls are useful for solving routine problems. They are poor evidence when different representatives give different explanations.

For many closed-end mortgages, the CFPB says a borrower can send a written Request for Information or Notice of Error to the servicer. The request needs to go to the proper address the servicer designates for such correspondence. The CFPB provides instructions for requesting mortgage information or disputing an error.

A targeted request about a loss draft can ask the servicer to identify, for example:

• the owner or investor of the mortgage;
• the written loss-draft requirements governing the loan;
• the amount of insurance proceeds received;
• the amount currently held;
• the account in which the money is being maintained;
• interest earned or credited;
• amounts already disbursed;
• inspections completed;
• documents still considered missing; and
• the specific basis for refusing or delaying the next requested disbursement.

Do not send a vague request asking for "everything." Ask for the information needed to resolve the dispute.

If attempts to resolve a mortgage-servicing problem directly with the company fail, the CFPB accepts mortgage complaints and forwards eligible complaints to companies for response.

If state law is central to the dispute, you may also need to identify the state or federal regulator that supervises the particular mortgage company. A state insurance department may regulate the insurer while not being the regulator for the mortgage servicer, so do not assume the same agency handles both sides of the dispute.

Do you still have to make your mortgage payment while the insurance money is being held?

Generally, yes.

The CFPB warns homeowners that having a pending insurance claim does not eliminate the obligation to make mortgage payments.

If a disaster or major repair has made the payments unaffordable, contact the servicer about available hardship or disaster-relief options rather than simply withholding payment because the loss-draft process is frustrating.

That distinction is especially important because, as the Fannie rules demonstrate, delinquency can itself affect how insurance proceeds are administered.

A practical loss-draft decision tree

When a mortgage company is holding your insurance proceeds, work through the problem in this order:

1. Identify the money

Separate structural/dwelling proceeds from personal-property and additional-living-expense proceeds.

2. Identify the servicer and loan owner

Do not assume they are the same company. Check Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or ask the servicer to identify the owner.

3. Obtain the actual loss-draft rules

Ask for the written process applicable to your specific mortgage, not a generic call-center summary.

4. Determine the loan status used by the rule

For Fannie, status at the time of loss matters.

5. Reconcile the servicer’s calculation

Compare the amount released with the governing formula, repair progress, claim amount and outstanding mortgage balance.

6. Identify the next condition

Is the servicer waiting for a contractor bid, lien waiver, inspection, permit, signed endorsement, repair milestone or some other document?

7. Ask where the held funds are and whether they earn interest

Do not assume the answer. Investor rules and state law can matter.

8. Check state-specific deadlines

Texas demonstrates why this step matters. California demonstrates the same point for interest.

9. Escalate in writing when necessary

If you believe the conditions have been satisfied but the money still is not moving, create a written servicing record and use the appropriate complaint or regulatory process.

The bottom line

A mortgage company holding an insurance check is not, by itself, evidence that the company is improperly taking your insurance money.

Structural insurance proceeds are often controlled through a loss-draft process because the damaged property also secures the mortgage. The insurer determines the covered loss; the mortgage contract and servicing system can separately govern how repair money is released.

But "the lender has an interest in the property" is not the end of the analysis.

The real questions are:

• What type of insurance proceeds are being held?
• Who owns or backs the mortgage?
• Which servicing rule applies?
• What was the loan status at the time of loss?
• What amount is authorized for the next release?
• Which condition remains unsatisfied?
• Does state law impose a deadline?
• Is the held balance earning interest for you?

Once those questions are answered, a vague fight with "the mortgage company" becomes a much more precise problem: a specific amount of money, governed by a specific rule, waiting on a specific condition.

That is the point at which you can determine whether the servicer is following the loss-draft process correctly or whether the delay deserves escalation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my mortgage company have to endorse my insurance check?

For structural damage to a mortgaged home, insurance payments are commonly made jointly to the homeowner and mortgage servicer or lender because the mortgage documents give the lender an interest in protecting the property securing the loan. The joint payment lets the servicer control or monitor use of repair proceeds under the applicable mortgage and servicing rules.

Can my mortgage company keep my whole insurance check until repairs are complete?

Not necessarily. Many loss-draft systems use staged disbursements. CFPB consumer guidance says servicers typically release some funds before work starts and additional funds as repairs progress. Investor rules can be much more specific. Fannie’s current rules, for example, authorize substantial initial disbursements for qualifying current loans.

How long can a mortgage company hold an insurance check?

There is no single national number that applies to every mortgage. Contract terms, investor rules and state law can all matter. Texas, for example, has specific 10-day requirements after receipt and after a borrower satisfies requirements and requests funds. Do not turn that Texas rule into a nationwide deadline.

Can a mortgage company hold money for my furniture and belongings?

The answer depends on the governing loan rules, but the distinction matters. For Fannie-owned mortgages, the servicer must immediately issue the borrower proceeds designated for contents/personal property or living expenses rather than treating those funds like structural repair proceeds.

Does the mortgage company have to pay interest on insurance money it holds?

Sometimes. Fannie requires unreleased insurance loss proceeds to be kept in an interest-bearing account for the borrower’s benefit. State law can impose additional rules. California Civil Code §2954.85 currently requires at least 2% simple annual interest on covered hazard-insurance proceeds held in qualifying residential loss-draft accounts, subject to the statute’s exception.

Does Fannie Mae require my servicer to release $40,000 immediately?

No. Fannie’s current framework says a servicer is authorized to release an initial amount up to the greater of $40,000, 33% of the insurance proceeds, or the applicable excess-over-debt amount for loans that were current or less than 31 days delinquent at the time of loss. That is not the same as an unconditional borrower right to receive $40,000 immediately in every case.

Can I find out whether Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns my mortgage?

Yes. Both have official online loan lookup tools. You can also request the identity of the mortgage owner from your servicer. Under federal servicing rules, requests specifically seeking the identity and relevant contact information of the owner or assignee generally have a shorter response deadline than ordinary information requests.

What if my mortgage company says it is waiting for an inspection?

Ask what rule requires the inspection, what repair percentage must be completed, and whether a remote inspection is permitted. Fannie allows qualifying current or less-than-31-days-delinquent loans to use authenticated photos, video or servicer-directed video calls for certain repair-progress inspections.

Can I file a complaint if the servicer will not release the insurance money?

Yes, but first document what the servicer says is missing and whether you have satisfied it. The CFPB accepts mortgage-servicing complaints. Depending on the institution and state, another banking or financial regulator may also have jurisdiction. If the dispute involves a large amount, threatened foreclosure or a complicated state-law issue, individualized legal advice may be appropriate.

References and Further Reading

Federal Consumer Guidance

• CFPB: How do home insurance companies pay out claims? — Explains joint insurance checks on mortgaged homes, staged disbursement and the continuing obligation to make mortgage payments.
• CFPB: How can I tell who owns my mortgage? — Explains the difference between a servicer and mortgage owner and how borrowers can identify the owner.
• CFPB: How do I dispute an error or request information about my mortgage? — Consumer instructions for written Requests for Information and Notices of Error.
• CFPB Regulation X §1024.36: Requests for information — Current regulatory text governing many mortgage-servicing information requests and response deadlines.
• CFPB: Submit a complaint — Federal complaint portal covering mortgage-servicing problems.

Investor and Servicing Rules

• Fannie Mae Servicing Guide B-5-01: Insured Loss Events — Primary source for Fannie rules on contents and living-expense proceeds, initial and later disbursements, delinquency status, repair inspections, remote inspections and interest-bearing accounts.
• Fannie Mae Loan Lookup Tool — Official lookup tool for determining whether Fannie Mae owns a mortgage.
• Freddie Mac: Disaster Relief and Handling Insurance Claims — Confirms that Freddie servicers must monitor insurance claims, disburse proceeds under Freddie’s guidelines and oversee reconstruction.
• Freddie Mac Loan Look-Up Tool — Official lookup tool for determining whether Freddie Mac owns a mortgage.

State Law and Case Law

• Gray v. Quicken Loans, Inc. (California Court of Appeal, 2021) — Illustrates mortgage language governing repair proceeds and explains why California’s older escrow-interest statute did not then apply to post-loss hazard-insurance proceeds.
• California AB 493 / Civil Code §2954.85 — Primary legislative text creating California’s minimum 2% simple-interest requirement for covered residential hazard-insurance proceeds held in loss-draft accounts, effective August 29, 2025.
• California AB 1278 — 2026 amendment signed September 30, 2026; scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027 and modifying how accrued interest may be paid directly to borrowers.
• Texas Department of Insurance: Homeowners insurance and disaster claims FAQ — Explains Texas-specific timing for mortgage-company handling of insurance claim proceeds.
• Texas consumer-protection rules: Release of claim funds — Describes Texas notice/release requirements and interest consequences when applicable requirements are not met.

Editorial currency note: Mortgage servicing guides, state statutes and disaster-related procedures can change. The Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CFPB and state-law sources above should be rechecked when this article is materially updated. California AB 1278 was enacted September 30, 2026 but its new direct-interest-payment mechanics are scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027.