Fee rules have changed quickly, and a headline about a national cap can leave out the detail that matters most: which fee, which business and which state. As of February 1, 2026, a federal rule limits how certain ticket sellers and lodging businesses present prices, but it does not cover every kind of charge. Federal limits on bank overdraft fees and credit card late fees also did not take effect as planned. State laws now account for more of the difference consumers may see.
Act I: The federal changes narrowed
The Federal Trade Commission’s final Junk Fees Rule took effect May 12, 2025. Its scope is much smaller than the proposal that came before it. The proposal would have reached nearly all industries, with limited exceptions. The final rule applies to live-event ticketing and short-term lodging, such as a concert ticket or a short stay. Covered businesses must show the total price prominently and early, and they may not misrepresent fees or charges. The FTC has a frequently asked questions page explaining the rule’s coverage.
That means a ticket shopper should see the full price sooner in the purchase process, rather than discovering required charges late in checkout. It does not mean the same federal rule applies to a gym membership, utility bill or car rental. Those charges may be covered by a different law, including a state law, or may fall outside the rules described here.
Two banking rules also changed course. Congress used the Congressional Review Act to overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overdraft rule for very large financial institutions. The President signed the resolution on May 12, 2025, and the CFPB says the rule has no force or effect. The review act also restricts the agency from issuing a substantially similar rule unless Congress authorizes it. The CFPB’s rule page records the status.
Separately, a federal court vacated the CFPB’s credit card late fee rule on April 15, 2025, under a consent judgment. The rule would have lowered a safe-harbor amount for certain large card issuers to $8. A safe harbor is a fee amount that can be charged without a separate case-by-case assessment under the rule. The agency agreed in the case that its cap did not meet legal requirements for penalty fees to be reasonable and proportional to the violation. The prior legal framework remains relevant, but the $8 cap is not in effect. The CFPB summarizes the existing framework on its credit card penalty fees page.
Act II: State lines shape the next part
Why state law matters more
When federal rules cover only certain industries, or when a federal rule is overturned, state law can make a bigger difference. In 2025, Colorado, Connecticut, Oregon and Virginia enacted broad junk fee laws. They joined California, which passed a law in 2023, Minnesota, which acted in 2024, and Massachusetts, which has a regulation addressing fees. These laws do not necessarily use the same definitions, cover the same businesses or make the same exceptions. The result is a patchwork, not one nationwide standard. A review of state junk fee laws describes the recent activity, but it is not a full guide to every state’s rules.
Colorado offers one example of how a state requirement can differ in detail. Its HB25-1090 took effect January 1, 2026. When a business advertises a price, the total price must be included and shown more prominently than other pricing information. Non-mandatory fees must be identified, along with whether they are refundable and who receives them. Government charges and shipping costs are excluded from the total under this law. Those details should not be assumed to apply in another state.
The available information does not provide a complete state-by-state account of junk fee rules or overdraft requirements. To check a particular state’s law, readers can look at the state attorney general’s consumer protection information or the legislature’s published law. The important point is to check the rule’s scope, not just whether a state has passed a law with “junk fees” in its description.
What overdraft fees look like now
The overturned CFPB rule would have applied to banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets. It would have limited overdraft fees to $5 or a cost-based amount and was scheduled to begin October 1, 2025. The CFPB estimated it could save consumers about $5 billion a year, or roughly $225 for each household that pays overdraft fees. Since the rule never took effect, there is no federal $5 overdraft cap under it.
Some consumer advocates have reported that certain institutions increased fees or reduced the amount customers could go below zero without a fee. At the same time, voluntary features such as grace periods, small-balance cushions, daily fee limits, early direct deposit and accounts without overdraft fees have reportedly remained available at some institutions. These are account terms, not a nationwide guarantee. An account’s current fee schedule and deposit agreement are the clearest sources for its specific charges.
State overdraft requirements are not detailed in the sources available for this article. It would be a mistake to infer that a state has a particular overdraft limit simply because it has a junk fee law. The two subjects can involve different laws and different agencies.
What card late fees mean after the court ruling
The court’s decision removed the CFPB rule’s lower safe harbor, but it did not erase the existing legal standards for credit card penalty fees. The earlier framework requires fees to be reasonable and proportional to the violation. That does not supply a single current dollar amount for every late payment. The sources available here do not list the amounts card issuers currently charge after the rule was vacated.
For a specific card, the issuer’s current terms and pricing disclosures are more useful than an old article describing the proposed $8 cap. A fee’s amount and the rules that apply can depend on the current terms and the governing law. The court action should not be read as permission for any amount, just as the former cap should not be treated as current.
How to check the rule that applies
Start by identifying the fee and the transaction. A ticket fee, an overdraft charge and a credit card late fee sit under different rule sets. Then check the current documents for the relevant business or account. For a bank account, that means the fee schedule and personal deposit account agreement. For a credit card, it means the issuer’s current terms and pricing disclosures. These documents can change, so an older article may describe a rule or price that no longer applies.
For an overdraft account, useful details to locate include the fee for each overdraft, any daily maximum and whether there is a no-fee cushion. A cushion is the amount an account may be overdrawn before a fee applies, if the account offers one. Account features such as early direct deposit or a no-overdraft-fee option can also have their own eligibility rules and terms. These details vary by account.
For a price advertised by a business, ask whether the displayed total includes required charges and whether a state rule covers that kind of purchase. The FTC’s rule is limited to live-event tickets and short-term lodging. A state law may reach other industries, but the rules differ. Checking the relevant regulator or the text of a state law is more reliable than assuming a federal headline applies everywhere.
Three assumptions to avoid
First, do not treat the FTC rule as a general ban on fees. It governs price disclosures and misrepresentations in two covered areas, not every fee charged by every business. Second, do not assume a nationwide $5 overdraft cap is in force. The CFPB rule that would have created that limit was overturned before its scheduled start. Third, do not assume that vacating the credit card late fee rule removed all limits on penalty fees. The prior standards still matter, and current issuer terms determine the stated fee.
Fee rules remain a moving mix of federal requirements, court decisions, congressional action and state laws. The practical difference may be as simple as seeing a full ticket price earlier, or as consequential as finding different fee disclosures across state lines. For any particular charge, the date and the exact law’s coverage matter.
Please seek a professional. This article is general information, not financial, tax or insurance advice. Please seek a licensed financial, tax or insurance professional about your own situation.
