RAP vs. IBR vs. Standard Repayment Calculator (2026)

The Department of Education's regulation sets an IBR payment at 10% of your discretionary income, divided by 12, if you are a “new borrower”, and at 15% if you are not. Discretionary income is your adjusted gross income (plus your spouse's, if you file jointly) above 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size and state, and the payment can never be more than what you would have paid on a 10-year Standard plan for the balance you had when you started IBR. A new borrower is, broadly, someone with no outstanding Direct or FFEL balance before July 1, 2014 (the exact test is in 34 CFR 685.209(b)(13)(ii); the calculator asks whether you had a balance then).

For one person in the 48 states, 150% of the 2026 guideline is $23,940. On $45,000 of AGI that leaves $21,060, and 10% of it is $175.50 a month. RAP on the same income is $150.00 (4% of AGI, divided by 12).

No. The regulation capitalizes unpaid IBR interest (adds it to the principal) only in three situations: where the general rule in 34 CFR 685.202(b) applies, such as when a deferment on an unsubsidized loan ends; when your payment is the 10-year-Standard cap amount; and when you leave IBR (685.209(j)(2)). Month to month the principal stays where it is and the unpaid interest builds up beside it; the interest rate is applied to the unpaid principal balance (685.202(a)), so the pile earns no interest of its own. An earlier version of this calculator compounded it monthly and overstated the forgiven balance; it now follows the regulation.

Example (the calculator's default inputs: $35,000 at 6.5%, $45,000 of AGI, a new borrower): the IBR payment of $175.50 is $14.08 short of the $189.58 of monthly interest. After 240 payments ($42,120 paid, all of it interest) the amount left to forgive is the $35,000 principal plus $3,380 of unpaid interest: $38,380. That amount is generally taxable income when it is forgiven in 2026 or later. Not modelled: the three years of interest relief IBR gives on Direct Subsidized Loans (685.209(h)(2)), and the capitalization that happens if you switch plans.

Under IBR, yes. If your income is at or below 150% of the poverty guideline, or the calculated payment is under $5, the payment is $0; a calculated payment from $5 up to $10 is raised to $10 (685.209(g)(1)(iii)). A month with a $0 payment obligation counts as a payment toward the 240 or 300 needed for forgiveness (685.209(k)(4)(i)(A)). RAP never goes below $10 a month (685.209(g)(3)), though interest your payment does not cover is not charged. With $22,000 of AGI and two dependents, IBR is $0.00 and RAP is $10.00; with a $100,000 balance at 7%, the $0 IBR payments leave $240,000 to forgive after 20 years, all of it the principal and unpaid interest.

PSLF forgives what is left of your Direct Loans after 120 monthly qualifying payments made while you work full-time for a government or qualifying nonprofit employer, and the payments do not have to be consecutive (34 CFR 685.219(c)-(d)). RAP, IBR and the 10-year Standard plan all qualify; Federal Student Aid says Tiered Standard payments do not. Tick the PSLF box above and RAP and IBR stop at payment 120 instead of running 20 to 30 years, and the forgiven balance is not taxed by the federal government (26 U.S.C. 108(f)(1)), unlike an ordinary RAP or IBR forgiveness in 2026 or later.

Example (the default inputs: $35,000 at 6.5%, $45,000 of AGI): RAP asks $150 a month, less than the $189.58 of monthly interest, so over 120 payments you pay $18,000, the $50-a-month principal match takes $6,000 off the balance, and $29,000 is forgiven. IBR's $175.50 also falls short of the interest, so you pay $21,060 and $36,690 is forgiven. The 10-year Standard plan costs $47,690 and is paid off at payment 120, so PSLF forgives nothing there. Without PSLF the same RAP borrower pays $54,000 over 30 years and $16,883 is forgiven, as taxable income.

What the calculator does not check: that your employer qualifies, that you work full-time (an average of 30 hours a week), that every payment is on time and in full, months worked for a non-qualifying employer, deferments and forbearances, and the rule that no payment counts for a month after the Department finds an employer has a “substantial illegal purpose” (685.219(c)(4), from July 1, 2026). The sources used here do not say in so many words whether a $0 IBR month counts as a qualifying payment: the regulation counts paying the full scheduled amount, and for a $0 payment that is $0, but confirm with your servicer. Your own payment history on studentaid.gov is the count that matters.

Only for Direct Loans made before July 1, 2026: if any of your Direct Loans is newer, IBR is not available for them and the calculator shows RAP and the Tiered Standard plan (685.209(d)(5)). The same section says a borrower who has made 60 or more qualifying payments under the REPAYE (SAVE) plan on or after July 1, 2024 may not enroll in IBR (685.209(c)(3)(ii)); the calculator does not ask about that. RAP is open to any Direct Loan borrower with eligible loans (685.209(c)(6)); loans made to parents (Parent PLUS) are not eligible for it.

No. The regulation uses only your own income if you are unmarried, file separately, or file jointly but are separated from your spouse or cannot reasonably access their income; if you file a joint return, your spouse's income is added, your spouse counts in your family size under IBR, and your payment is scaled by your share of the couple's federal loan debt (685.209(e) and (g)). This calculator takes one AGI and a household of you plus dependents, so for a joint filer it is not reliable: use the Department's Loan Simulator, which reads your actual loan records.