Federal repayment plans now, step by step

🎯 In 30 seconds: Your choices depend on when your loans were made. If every Direct Loan you have was made before July 1, 2026, you keep the older fixed plans and Income-Based Repayment, you can also pick RAP, and you must leave PAYE or ICR by July 1, 2028. If any loan was made on or after July 1, 2026, the choice is Tiered Standard or RAP. On $30,000 at 6.5% for a single borrower earning $48,000, RAP is $160 a month and Tiered Standard about $261.

Step 1: find which group you’re in

Your loans	Plans you can choose	If you don’t choose
All Direct Loans made before July 1, 2026, and no new loans since	10-year standard, graduated, extended (if eligible), Income-Based Repayment (IBR) or RAP. PAYE or ICR only if already on them, and only until June 30, 2028.	Standard plan
At least one Direct Loan made on or after July 1, 2026	Tiered Standard or RAP	Tiered Standard
Parent PLUS made on or after July 1, 2026	Tiered Standard only	Tiered Standard
Older Parent PLUS	Fixed plans. After consolidating, ICR until June 30, 2028. RAP is not available.	Standard plan

Log in at StudentAid.gov to see each loan’s date and type, then run your own numbers in the Loan Simulator. Your servicer makes the change.

Step 2: how a RAP payment is figured

Start with adjusted gross income (AGI) from your tax return. Married filing jointly means both incomes count. Filing separately means only yours.
Find your percentage. AGI up to $10,000 pays a flat $120 a year. Above that it climbs one point per $10,000 band: 1% for $10,001–$20,000, 2% for $20,001–$30,000, and so on up to 10% above $100,000. The percentage applies to your whole AGI, not just the part inside the band.
Divide by 12, then subtract $50 for each dependent you claim. The payment is never below $10.
If your spouse’s income is counted and your spouse also has eligible loans, the payment is split by each person’s share of the combined balance.

AGI $25,000 (2%)	$41.67 a month
AGI $48,000 (4%)	$160 a month
AGI $72,000 (7%)	$420 a month
AGI $110,000 (10%)	$916.67 a month

Two protections apply to each on-time payment. Interest your payment doesn’t cover is waived. And if the payment lowers your principal by less than $50, the government adds enough to bring the drop up to $50 or the amount you paid, whichever is less. Forgiveness comes after 360 qualifying payments. Under current federal law, forgiveness outside PSLF in 2026 or later is generally taxable income.

Watch the band edges

Because the rate applies to all of your AGI, crossing a band line jumps the payment. At $50,000 AGI the payment is $166.67 a month. At $50,001 it is $208.34, about $500 more a year for one extra dollar of income. Pre-tax contributions to a workplace retirement plan lower AGI, which can drop you into a lower band.

Step 3: how Tiered Standard works

Under $25,000 owed when repayment starts	10 years
$25,000 to $49,999	15 years
$50,000 to $99,999	20 years
$100,000 or more	25 years

Payments are fixed and at least $50. Longer terms lower the payment and raise the total. On $120,000 at 6.5%, the 25-year payment is about $810 a month and about $243,000 in total, against about $1,363 a month and $163,500 over 10 years. Federal loans have no prepayment penalty, so you can pay extra whenever you like.

Worked example: Jordan, $30,000 at 6.5%

Jordan is single with no children and an AGI of $48,000. Rates on federal loans change each year; 6.5% is a round number for the example.

Plan	Monthly payment	What happens to the balance
Tiered Standard (15 years)	About $261	Paid off in 15 years, about $47,040 in total
RAP	$160	Monthly interest is $162.50. The $2.50 shortfall is waived and the $50 match cuts principal, so the balance falls $600 in the first year
10-year standard (only if every loan predates July 1, 2026)	About $341	Paid off in 10 years, about $40,880 in total

If Jordan had one child, RAP would drop to $110. If his income rose to $72,000, RAP would be $420, more than Tiered Standard. For loans made after June 30, 2026, a borrower can switch between the two plans at any time after repayment starts, so a common pattern is RAP during a lean stretch and Tiered Standard once income grows. See the debt planner for paying extra against several debts.

Step 4: deadlines for older loans

SAVE: ended by court order on March 10, 2026. Servicers send notices with 90 days to choose. No choice means a standard or Tiered Standard plan.
PAYE and ICR: choose a new plan before July 1, 2028 (RAP, IBR, standard, graduated or extended). If you don’t, loans that qualify go to RAP and the rest to IBR.
IBR: 10% of income above 150% of the poverty guideline for borrowers with no loans before July 1, 2014, or 15% for others, never more than the 10-year standard payment. Forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.
Autopay: enroll by December 31, 2026 for a 1 percentage point rate cut through June 30, 2028 on Direct Loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2012.

Check yourself

What is the RAP payment on an AGI of $48,000 with no dependents? Answer: 4% of $48,000 ÷ 12 = $160 a month.
How long is the Tiered Standard term on $30,000? Answer: 15 years.
What happens to interest your on-time RAP payment doesn’t cover? Answer: It is waived.
When do PAYE and ICR end? Answer: Borrowers must move before July 1, 2028.

📅 Federal repayment plans now, step by step