Student Loan Repayment Calculator

Quick answer: which plan costs least?

It depends on your income relative to your debt. Take a single borrower with $40,000 of loans at 6.5% and $55,000 of adjusted gross income, growing 3% a year:

The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) sets the payment from your income, not your balance: $229.17 a month here. The 10-year standard plan costs more each month but the least overall if you can afford it. Income-driven plans make sense when the payment you can afford is well below the standard payment — especially if you're working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

What changed on July 1, 2026

The 2025 reconciliation law (Pub. L. 119-21) rewrote federal repayment, and the Education Department's final rules took effect July 1, 2026 (Pub. L. 119-21; Federal Register):

• RAP opened as the new income-driven plan for Direct loans (not Parent PLUS).
• Loans made on or after July 1, 2026 can use only RAP or the new Tiered Standard plan.
• IBR stays open for older loans, and the "partial financial hardship" test to enter it was dropped in July 2025 (Federal Student Aid).
• PAYE and ICR close after June 30, 2028; borrowers on them must pick a new plan by July 1, 2028, or are moved to RAP (or IBR) (34 CFR 685.209).
• SAVE is closed under a court-approved settlement, and servicers have been moving borrowers off it with 90-day notices since July 2026 (MOHELA).

How RAP payments are calculated

(AGI × rate for your income band) ÷ 12 − $50 × dependents = monthly payment (at least $10)

Example: $55,000 × 5% ÷ 12 = $229.17; with one dependent, $179.17.

The rate is 1% for income of $10,001–$20,000 and rises one point for each $10,000 band, to 9% for $90,001–$100,000 and 10% above $100,000. At $10,000 or less the payment is $10 a month. Unlike older plans, the percentage applies to all your income — there's no poverty-line deduction (34 CFR 685.209(b)).

RAP's income cliffs

Because the rate applies to all of your income, crossing a band edge by a dollar raises the payment a lot. At $40,000 of income RAP is $100.00 a month; at $40,001 it's $133.34. If your income is just over an edge, a pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contribution that lowers your AGI below it can cut your payment by more than it costs. The calculator warns you when you're within $1,000 of an edge.

RAP's interest waiver and $50 principal match

Two features keep RAP balances from growing. If your on-time payment doesn't cover the month's interest, the rest of the interest is waived. And if your payment reduces principal by less than $50, the Department reduces principal further — so each month your balance falls by at least $50, or by your full payment if it's under $50 (34 CFR 685.209(h), (o); we apply the match in that reading).

Example: $60,000 at 6.5% with $30,000 of income, unchanged for 30 years. RAP is $50.00 a month, but interest is about $325.00 a month. Over 30 years, $81,499 of interest is waived and the match takes $18,000 off the principal; $42,000 is forgiven after 360 payments.

RAP vs IBR vs standard, by income

$40,000 at 6.5%, single, income growing 3% a year. Each cell is the first monthly payment · total cost including estimated tax on any forgiveness:

IBR uses income above 150% of the poverty line ($23,940 for one person in 2026), so it's often cheaper than RAP at modest incomes, and its payment can't exceed the 10-year standard payment. RAP has no such cap, so at high incomes its monthly payment can exceed the standard payment — though paying faster usually lowers the total, as the table shows.

Standard and the new Tiered Standard plan

If all your loans were made before July 1, 2026, you can still choose the classic 10-year standard plan. If you have any loan made on or after that date, the fixed option is the Tiered Standard plan, with a term set by your total balance (34 CFR 685.208):

Examples: $20,000 → 10 years; $40,000 → 15 years; $75,000 → 20 years; $120,000 → 25 years. On a new $75,000 balance at 6.52%, the Tiered Standard payment is $560.06 a month for 20 years. Payments are at least $50 a month.

Forgiveness, PSLF and the tax bill

• RAP forgives what's left after 360 qualifying payments (30 years); IBR after 20 or 25 years.
• Taxes: the temporary federal tax exclusion for income-driven forgiveness ended after 2025. Forgiveness from 2026 on counts as income, unless you're insolvent; discharges for death or disability stay tax-free (26 U.S.C. § 108). The calculator estimates this tax with 2026 brackets — a rough figure, since it may be decades away. Some states tax it too.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness remains tax-free after 120 qualifying payments while working for a qualifying employer, and RAP payments count; federal servicer Edfinancial says Tiered Standard payments don't (Edfinancial). If you're aiming for PSLF, the lowest payment is usually best.

If you were on SAVE, PAYE or ICR

SAVE is closed and borrowers are being moved off it. Servicers have been sending 90-day notices in batches since July 2026 — check the deadline on yours; borrowers who don't choose are placed in the Standard or Tiered Standard plan (MOHELA). Compare RAP and IBR here, then apply on studentaid.gov or with your servicer. PAYE and ICR borrowers have until June 30, 2028, but nothing stops you switching earlier if another plan is cheaper.

Married borrowers and Parent PLUS

• Married, filing jointly: RAP uses joint income, and the payment is split by each spouse's share of the couple's federal student debt. This calculator assumes all the debt is yours.
• Married, filing separately: RAP uses only your income, which can lower the payment but may raise your taxes.
• Parent PLUS loans can't use RAP. Parent PLUS consolidation loans made before July 1, 2026 can generally use ICR until June 2028, and IBR; newer ones get the Tiered Standard plan only. Check your options with your servicer.

2026–27 rates, borrowing limits and the interest deduction

• Rates for loans first disbursed July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027: 6.52% undergraduate, 8.07% graduate unsubsidized, 9.07% PLUS, fixed for the life of the loan (Federal Student Aid). Enrolling in autopay now takes 1 point off your rate through June 30, 2028, if you sign up by the Department's deadline (Education Department).
• Limits from July 1, 2026: Grad PLUS has ended for new borrowers; graduate students can borrow $20,500 a year ($100,000 total), professional students $50,000 a year ($200,000 total); Parent PLUS is capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student (Federal Student Aid).
• Deduction: you can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest for 2026, phasing out between $85,000 and $100,000 of modified AGI ($175,000–$205,000 joint); it isn't available if you're married filing separately (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

What this calculator doesn't cover

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness timelines, and payments you've already made toward forgiveness.
• Subsidized-loan interest benefits, capitalization rules when leaving a plan, and servicer timing.
• Private loans and refinancing (which ends federal protections).
• Splitting a married couple's RAP payment by each spouse's debt.
• Mixing old and new loans: if you have any loan from July 1, 2026 on, we treat all your loans as new, but older loans may still be able to use IBR.
• Inflation: totals are dollars paid, not adjusted for inflation, and the forgiveness tax uses today's brackets on future income, so it's likely too high.

For your official numbers, use your servicer or studentaid.gov. To fit the payment into your budget, try the budget calculator; to pay off private or other debt faster, the debt payoff calculator.

Common questions

What is the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)?

RAP is the federal income-driven plan that opened July 1, 2026. Payments are 1%–10% of your adjusted gross income (minimum $10 a month), less $50 a month per dependent, with unpaid interest waived and any balance forgiven after 30 years of payments.

Is RAP better than IBR?

At modest incomes IBR is often cheaper, because it ignores income up to 150% of the poverty line. At higher incomes the difference is smaller and IBR caps the payment at the 10-year amount. IBR is only for loans made before July 1, 2026. Compare both with your numbers above.

Is student loan forgiveness taxable in 2026?

Income-driven forgiveness after 2025 is federally taxable unless you're insolvent. PSLF and death or disability discharges remain tax-free.

What happens to SAVE borrowers?

SAVE ended under a court settlement. Borrowers receive a 90-day notice to choose a new plan; those who don't are placed in a standard plan.

Can I lower my RAP payment?

Yes, by lowering your adjusted gross income (pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions), claiming dependents, or, if married, possibly filing separately. Watch the $10,000 band edges.

Sources

1. Reimagining and Improving Student Education: Federal Student Loan Program final regulations (91 FR 23768, May 1, 2026) — U.S. Department of Education, Federal Register. Accessed October 14, 2026.
2. Public Law 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act), Title VIII — U.S. Congress. Accessed October 14, 2026.
3. 20 U.S. Code § 1087e (Direct Loan terms and repayment plans) — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 14, 2026.
4. 20 U.S. Code § 1098e (income-based repayment) — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 14, 2026.
5. Federal student loan program provisions effective upon enactment under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Dear Colleague Letter, July 18, 2025) — Federal Student Aid. Accessed October 14, 2026.
6. SAVE plan FAQ — MOHELA (federal loan servicer). Accessed October 14, 2026.
7. Annual update of the HHS poverty guidelines (2026) — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Register. Accessed October 14, 2026.
8. 26 U.S. Code § 108 (income from discharge of indebtedness) — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed October 14, 2026.
9. Lower payment options — Edfinancial Services (federal loan servicer). Accessed October 14, 2026.
10. Interest rates for Direct Loans first disbursed between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027 — Federal Student Aid. Accessed October 14, 2026.
11. U.S. Department of Education announces student loan interest rate reduction (autopay discount) — U.S. Department of Education. Accessed October 14, 2026.
12. Loan limits: frequently asked questions (May 2026) — Federal Student Aid. Accessed October 14, 2026.
13. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments, student loan interest deduction) — Internal Revenue Service. Accessed October 14, 2026.

Rules as of October 14, 2026. Federal student loan rules are changing quickly; check studentaid.gov before you switch plans.