Student Loan Calculator

This calculator compares repayment plans for US federal student loans. Enter your balance, interest rate and income, and it shows the monthly payment, total paid, time to repay and any amount forgiven under the 10-year standard plan, the tiered standard plan for loans made from July 1, 2026, and an income-driven plan: the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or Income-Based Repayment (IBR). If you work in public service, it also estimates what Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) would leave you paying.

Income-driven payments are recalculated every year, so the calculator raises your income by the growth rate you choose and tracks the balance month by month, including unpaid interest.

• Standard: a fixed payment that repays the loan in 10 years. For new loans from July 1, 2026, the term is 10 to 25 years depending on the balance.
• RAP: 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income depending on the income band, divided by 12, minus $50 a month for each dependent, with a $10 minimum. Unpaid interest is waived, and the government adds up to $50 a month toward principal so the balance falls. Any remaining balance is forgiven after 30 years.
• IBR: 10% (or 15% for older borrowers) of income above 150% of the poverty guideline, never more than the standard payment, with forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.
• PSLF: after 120 qualifying payments while working full time for government or a qualifying nonprofit, the rest is forgiven tax-free.

A new graduate owes $35,000 at 6.5% and earns $55,000. The standard plan costs $397.42 a month and $47,690 in total. Under RAP the first payment is $229.17 (5% of income ÷ 12), and with 3% raises the loan is paid off in 13 years for $55,550 in total. A lower payment now usually means paying for longer.

A teacher on PSLF with $60,000 of loans, $52,000 of income, one dependent and 36 qualifying payments made pays $166.67 a month under RAP. After 84 more payments, $55,800 would be forgiven.

For IBR, the 2026 poverty guideline for one person is $15,960, so 150% is $23,940. On $55,000 of income, the new-borrower payment is $258.83; RAP on the same income is $229.17.

Unsubsidized loans charge interest while you are in school and during the grace period, and unpaid interest is added to the balance when repayment begins. A $20,000 unsubsidized loan at 6.53% held for four and a half years before repayment builds up about $5,877 of interest. Paying that interest before it is added keeps the balance, and every later payment, lower.

If you can afford the standard payment, it usually costs the least in total because the loan is paid off fastest. An income-driven plan makes sense when the standard payment would strain your budget, when your income is low compared with your debt, or when you are working toward PSLF, where a lower payment means less paid before the balance is forgiven. Extra payments on any plan go first to interest and then to principal; to pay a loan off faster, ask your servicer to apply extra amounts to principal rather than to future payments.

Federal repayment rules changed under the 2025 budget law: RAP opens in July 2026, new borrowers lose access to older plans, and existing borrowers in older income-driven plans must move by July 2028. Check your options and your loan details at StudentAid.gov, which lists your exact balances, rates and qualifying payment counts. Private student loans do not offer these plans; use the loan payment calculator for them.