PSLF in 2026: On a $60,000 Loan, RAP Forgives the Same $54,000 at Any Income Up to $60,000, Costs $6,000 to $30,000 to Get There, and Forgives Nothing Above $90,839

Public Service Loan Forgiveness forgives what is left of your Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments made while you work full-time for a government or qualifying nonprofit employer. The usual way to think about it is as a prize at the end of ten years. The numbers say something different: because of how the Repayment Assistance Plan treats interest, the amount forgiven barely depends on your income, but what you pay to get there depends on it a great deal, and above a certain income the prize disappears because the loan is paid off first. The figures come from the RAP vs. IBR vs. Standard calculator with its PSLF box ticked: a single borrower, no dependents, $60,000 at 6.5% in Direct Loans made before July 1, 2026, income held constant for ten years.

What counts as a payment

Qualifying payments are full, on-time monthly payments under a qualifying plan while you work full-time for a qualifying employer; they do not have to be consecutive (34 CFR 685.219(c); Federal Student Aid). Qualifying plans are the income-driven plans (RAP and IBR here) and the 10-year Standard plan; Federal Student Aid says payments under the Tiered Standard plan, which loans made on or after July 1, 2026 use, do not qualify. Full-time means an average of 30 hours a week in qualifying work ((b)(11)). The forgiven amount is the principal and accrued interest left at the last required payment ((d)), and the federal tax exclusion for a discharge earned by working for a period for a broad class of employers is in 26 U.S.C. 108(f)(1).

What you pay and what is forgiven, by income

A $60,000 loan at 6.5% accrues $325 of interest a month at first. Everything below is after 120 payments:

The 10-year Standard plan on the same loan is $681 a month and $81,755 in all, with nothing forgiven; its payments count toward PSLF, but they finish the loan at payment 120.

Why RAP forgives the same amount at $30,000 and $60,000

Two rules in 34 CFR 685.209 do it. Interest that your payment does not cover is not charged ((h)(4)), and when a payment cuts the principal by less than $50, the Secretary reduces the principal by the difference up to $50 ((o)(2)). While the RAP payment stays below the $325 of monthly interest, which is every row above up to $60,000, the balance falls by exactly $50 a month whatever you pay: 120 months take $6,000 off and $54,000 is forgiven. So moving from $45,000 to $60,000 of income raises the 120 payments by $12,000 and the forgiveness by nothing. IBR has no such subsidy: the unpaid interest stays on the loan (685.209(j)(2)), so on IBR a lower income means both a lower payment and a larger forgiven balance ($92,940 at $30,000).

This is the arithmetic of one assumption, an income that stays put for ten years. Real incomes move and the payment is recalculated every year when you recertify, so use it for the shape, not the figure.

Where PSLF stops mattering

PSLF forgives something only if the plan's payment is below what pays the loan off in 120 months. The 10-year payment is the benchmark: IBR is capped at it; RAP's payment is a percentage of income and this model applies no cap to it. The lowest income at which no balance is left to forgive:

For RAP it is the income at which the bracket percentage of AGI reaches the 10-year payment, which is why the line sits at $90,839 for $60,000 (9% of it, divided by 12, is $681). For IBR it is where 10% of the income above 150% of the poverty guideline ($23,940 for one person) does. Which plan reaches it first depends on the balance: on $30,000IBR does ($64,818 against $68,129), on $60,000 and above RAP does. Below the line, paying more than the plan asks only gives away forgiveness; above it, PSLF is irrelevant to the choice of plan.

What this does not cover

That your employer qualifies, that every month is full-time qualifying work, months under a non-qualifying employer, deferments and forbearances that count (not under RAP), consolidation (the weighted average of earlier qualifying payments, (c)(3)), Parent PLUS loans (not eligible for RAP), a spouse's income on a joint return, and the rule that from July 1, 2026 no payment counts for a month after the Department finds an employer has a substantial illegal purpose ((c)(4)). It also does not say whether a $0 IBR month counts: the regulation counts paying the full scheduled amount, but the sources read do not say so for $0, so ask your servicer. Your PSLF count on studentaid.gov is the number that matters. This is general information, not tax or financial advice.