What Will Your Student Loan Payments Actually Be?

Federal Repayment Plans Changed on July 1, 2026 — Here’s Where They Stand

If any of your federal Direct Loans — including a consolidation loan — was first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, all of your Direct Loans can be repaid only under two plans: the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard Plan (StudentAid.gov definitions).

If every loan you hold is from before July 1, 2026, you keep access to the older options too: the 10-year Standard and Extended plans and Income-Based Repayment (IBR). PAYE is closing, and SAVE is blocked by a federal court order dated March 10, 2026.

The calculator above compares your monthly payment, total cost, and forgiveness timeline across Tiered Standard, RAP, Standard, Extended, IBR, and the PSLF track, and labels which borrowers can use each one.

It uses the RAP income table for RAP payments, the IBR formula (income minus 150% of the 2026 poverty guideline) for IBR, and standard amortization for fixed-payment plans. It treats the income you enter as your adjusted gross income (AGI), counts everyone in your household except you as a dependent for RAP, and holds your income constant for the life of the loan.

How Each Repayment Plan Works

Tiered Standard Plan

Fixed monthly payments, with the maximum term set by your total Direct Loan principal: under $25,000, 10 years; $25,000 to $49,999, 15 years; $50,000 to $99,999, 20 years; $100,000 or more, 25 years. Payments are at least $50 a month. It is open to all Direct Loan borrowers, including parent PLUS borrowers.

On a $30,000 loan at 6.52%, the 15-year payment is about $261.66 a month, for an estimated $47,099 in total ($17,099 in interest). Tiered Standard payments do not count toward PSLF.

Standard Repayment (10-Year) — Older Loans Only

Fixed monthly payments over 120 months. This plan costs the least in total interest because you pay off the principal fastest.

On a $30,000 loan at 6.52%, the monthly payment is about $340.95, and you’d pay an estimated $10,914 in total interest — $40,914 over the life of the loan.

The downside: the monthly payment is the highest of any plan, which may strain a tight budget. For balances under $25,000, the Tiered Standard Plan uses the same 10-year schedule.

Extended Repayment (25-Year) — Older Loans Only

Available for borrowers with more than $30,000 in Direct Loans, all from before July 1, 2026. Stretches payments to 25 years.

On the same $30,000 loan, the monthly payment drops to roughly $203 — but total interest grows to about $30,881, more than the amount borrowed.

Extended repayment makes sense only as a temporary measure while your income grows, not as a permanent strategy.

Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)

RAP sets your payment as a percentage of AGI by income band: $120 a year for AGI up to $10,000, then 1% for AGI above $10,000 up to $20,000, 2% above $20,000 up to $30,000, and so on up to 9% above $90,000 up to $100,000, and 10% above $100,000. That annual amount is divided by 12, reduced by $50 a month for each dependent claimed on your tax return, and never falls below $10 a month. Unlike IBR, the payment is not capped at the Standard amount.

The math: a single borrower with no dependents and $40,000 of AGI pays 3% of $40,000 — $1,200 a year, or $100 a month. On $30,000 at 6.52%, that is less than the roughly $163 of interest charged in the first month.

RAP handles that gap in two ways. Unpaid interest on on-time, full payments is waived, so your balance never rises above what it was when you entered RAP. And if a payment reduces principal by less than $50, the Department of Education adds a matching payment so principal falls by $50 (or by the payment amount, when the payment is under $50).

In this example, the borrower could make 360 payments totaling an estimated $36,000, and about $12,000 could be discharged at 30 years. Except under PSLF, a discharged balance may be subject to federal and/or state tax. Parent PLUS loans, and consolidation loans that repaid them, can’t use RAP.

Income-Based Repayment (IBR) — Older Loans Only

IBR is for borrowers whose loans were all disbursed before July 1, 2026. If you first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014, IBR charges 10% of discretionary income — AGI minus 150% of the poverty guideline — with forgiveness after 20 years. If you borrowed before July 1, 2014, it’s 15% and 25 years. The payment is capped at the 10-year Standard amount.

The math: for a single borrower earning $40,000, the 2026 HHS poverty guideline for a family of 1 is $15,960, so 150% is $23,940. Discretionary income is $40,000 minus $23,940 = $16,060.

Ten percent of that is $1,606 a year, or about $133.83 a month — compared with $340.95 on the 10-year Standard plan.

PAYE — Closing

Pay As You Earn also charges 10% of discretionary income, capped, with forgiveness after 20 years. It is limited by new-borrower rules and is closed to anyone with a loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, and the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (previously called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) eliminates PAYE and ICR no later than July 1, 2028. The calculator does not model PAYE separately.

The trade-off with every income-driven plan: lower monthly payments, but a longer repayment period, and a forgiven balance may be taxable as income. PSLF forgiveness is tax-free.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness: The Most Powerful Benefit Available

If you work full-time for a federal, state, or local government agency — including public schools, state universities, the military, or law enforcement — or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, PSLF forgives your remaining loan balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments (10 years).

Unlike income-driven forgiveness, PSLF forgiveness is tax-free. RAP payments generally count toward PSLF when they are on time and in full; Tiered Standard payments do not. The calculator’s PSLF row assumes RAP payments.

The financial impact can be large. A single borrower with $50,000 in loans at 6.52% earning $45,000 in a public-service role would pay about $150 a month on RAP (4% of $45,000, divided by 12) — an estimated $18,000 over 120 payments.

With RAP’s interest waiver and principal match, the balance after 120 payments would be about $44,000, which could be forgiven tax-free. The same borrower on the 10-year Standard plan (older loans) would pay about $68,190 — so PSLF could save an estimated $50,190 in this scenario.

The Overpayment Strategy: When Paying More Saves Thousands

If you don’t qualify for PSLF and aren’t pursuing income-driven forgiveness, the most effective way to reduce total loan cost is making payments above the minimum.

Amortization is front-loaded with interest — on a $30,000 loan at 6.52%, about $163 of the first $340.95 payment goes to interest rather than principal.

Extra payments cut directly into principal, reducing the interest that accrues on future payments. Paying an extra $50/month on a $30,000 loan at 6.52% saves an estimated $1,819 in interest and eliminates 20 months of payments.

An extra $100/month saves about $2,992 and cuts 34 months. Even sporadic lump-sum payments — a tax refund applied to the principal, for example — have a measurable impact.

Estimates assume the 2026-27 undergraduate rate of 6.52% and a 10-year fixed schedule, computed the same way as the calculator’s extra-payment result (the final month counted as a full payment). Actual savings vary by rate, plan, and remaining term.

Federal vs. Private Loans: Different Rules, Different Strategies

Everything above applies to federal Direct Loans. Private student loans operate under different rules: no RAP or other income-driven plans, no PSLF eligibility, no federal forbearance protections, and interest rates that depend on your credit and lender. The calculator uses an assumed 8.5% rate for private loans; your lender’s rate may differ.

If you hold private loans, your primary strategies are refinancing to a lower rate (if your credit has improved since borrowing) and aggressive overpayment.

One critical distinction: if you’re pursuing PSLF, never refinance federal loans into a private loan. Refinancing converts them to private debt and permanently eliminates PSLF eligibility.

For a deeper comparison, see our guide on federal vs. private student loans.

Choose Your Plan, Then Reduce Your Need to Borrow

The calculator shows what repayment looks like at various loan amounts — but the best loan strategy starts before you borrow.

Every dollar in grants, scholarships, or employer tuition assistance you secure is a dollar that never accrues interest and never requires a repayment plan.

Check your financial aid eligibility, search our Scholarship Finder for free money, and verify your employer’s tuition benefits before committing to a loan amount.