Student loan calculator after the 2025 reform: which plan costs you less

RAP is not built like the old income-driven plans. It does not subtract a protected amount from income. It looks at the bracket your adjusted gross income falls in and applies that percentage to all of it: nothing above $120 a year under $10,000, then 1% above $10,000, 2% above $20,000, and so on to 10% above $100,000. The yearly amount is divided by 12, then $50 is taken off for each dependent you claim, and the result cannot fall under $10. Because the rate jumps at each $10,000 step, a raise from $49,900 to $50,100 moves the payment from $166 to $209. The RAP calculator shows your bracket.

On the older plans a low payment often left part of the monthly interest unpaid, and balances grew. On RAP, each on-time payment wipes the interest it did not cover, and if the payment cut your principal by less than $50, the Department adds the difference, up to $50 or the amount you paid if smaller (34 CFR 685.209(o)(2)). The balance therefore goes down every month you pay on time. The flip side is the horizon: any balance left is forgiven only after 360 qualifying payments, ten years more than IBR for a new borrower. The waiver and the match explained.

IBR survives for loans made before July 1, 2026, and the law dropped its old entry test, the partial financial hardship. The payment is 15% of income above 150% of the poverty guideline, or 10% for someone with no federal loan balance before July 1, 2014, never more than the 10-year standard payment. Unpaid interest still accrues on IBR. Forgiveness comes after 20 years for a new borrower and 25 for the others. For a single borrower the income line is $23,940 in 2026, so a low income often pays less on IBR than on RAP, while a middle income often pays less on RAP. RAP or IBR.

It replaces the 10-year standard for anyone with a loan made from July 1, 2026: a fixed payment over 10 years under $25,000 of total principal, 15 years from $25,000, 20 years from $50,000 and 25 years from $100,000. A longer term means a lower payment and more interest. On $38,000 at 6.52% the payment is $331 over 15 years, against $432 over 10. For PSLF it counts only when its payment is at least the 10-year amount. Tiered Standard in detail.

A court approved the settlement between the Department and Missouri in March 2026. No one can enroll in SAVE, pending applications were denied, and from July 1, 2026 servicers send each SAVE borrower a notice with a 90-day deadline to choose a plan; without a choice, the servicer moves the loans to the Standard or Tiered Standard plan (Department of Education, March 27, 2026). The SAVE plan page shows what your old SAVE payment becomes on each plan.

Graduate students can borrow up to $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total in unsubsidized loans; professional students $50,000 and $200,000. New Grad PLUS loans stopped for periods starting July 1, 2026, and parents can borrow $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student. Students already enrolled with a loan for their program by June 30, 2026 keep the old limits for up to 3 academic years. How much you can borrow.

They do not log in to your account, read your loan list or enroll you. They assume each payment is on time and that your income moves by the raise you enter. They do not model the three-year interest subsidy of IBR on subsidized loans, consolidation of loans with different rates, or state programs. Your servicer computes the official payment. The method page lists every formula and its source.