How the calculator works
- Your loans: the balance and interest rate. If you have several loans, enter the total and a rate between them, weighted by balance.
- Your income: your adjusted gross income, household size and dependents, which set your payment under RAP and IBR. Income usually rises over time, so the calculator grows it each year.
- When your loans started: loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 can use the standard plan or RAP; older loans can also use IBR.
It then works out each plan month by month: your first payment, how long you’ll pay, what you’ll pay in all, and any balance forgiven at the end.
The plans compared
- Standard plan: fixed payments that clear the loan over 10 to 25 years, with the term set by your balance. It usually costs the least interest in total.
- Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income, less $50 a month per dependent, with a $10 minimum. Unpaid interest is waived, and anything left after 30 years is forgiven.
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR): for loans from before July 1, 2026. 10% or 15% of your discretionary income, never more than the 10-year standard payment, with forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.
Payments by balance and by income
The standard plan on new loans at the 6.52% undergraduate rate, with the term set by your balance:
| Balance | Term | A month | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | 10 years | $114 | $3,638 |
| $20,000 | 10 years | $227 | $7,276 |
| $35,000 | 15 years | $305 | $19,949 |
| $60,000 | 20 years | $448 | $47,532 |
| $120,000 | 25 years | $812 | $123,525 |
Under RAP, the payment depends on your income instead of your balance:
| Adjusted gross income | A month, no dependents | With one dependent |
|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $42 | $10 |
| $40,000 | $100 | $50 |
| $55,000 | $229 | $179 |
| $75,000 | $438 | $388 |
| $100,000 | $750 | $700 |
On a low income with a large balance, RAP can cost far less each month than the standard plan. On a higher income, RAP’s payment can be close to or above the standard payment, and the standard plan clears the loan sooner.
Which plan suits you?
- You can afford the standard payment: it usually costs the least in total and gets you debt-free soonest.
- Your payment would squeeze your budget: RAP ties it to your income, so it falls if your income does, and unpaid interest doesn’t pile up.
- You work for a government or nonprofit employer: Public Service Loan Forgiveness forgives what’s left after 10 years of qualifying payments, tax-free, so a lower income-driven payment can make sense.
Forgiveness at the end of an income-driven plan may count as taxable income, so plan for that if you expect a balance to be forgiven.
2026–27 federal loan interest rates
| Loan | Rate |
|---|---|
| Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized (undergraduate) | 6.52% |
| Direct Unsubsidized (graduate and professional) | 8.07% |
| Direct PLUS (parents and graduate students) | 9.07% |
Rates are fixed for the life of each loan and apply to loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Each is set from the May 10-year Treasury auction plus a set margin.
Paying them off faster
Paying more than the minimum on the standard plan cuts the interest you pay and the years it takes. If you have other debts too, compare them in the debt payoff calculator, and see how to pay off debt for the avalanche and snowball methods. A budget shows how much you can put towards them each month.