Repayment after the 2025 law · calculator
Repayment Assistance Plan calculator
With $45,000 of adjusted gross income and no dependent, the Repayment Assistance Plan asks $150 a month: 4% of the whole income, divided by 12. Two dependents bring it down to $50, because RAP takes $50 off for each one, and no payment ever falls below $10. The plan opened on July 1, 2026 under section 455(q) of the Higher Education Act, written by the 2025 budget law, and the Department of Education set its details in the regulations of May 1, 2026. Two features change what the payment does to your balance. Interest your on-time payment does not cover is not charged, and when the payment reduces principal by less than $50, the Department adds the difference. On a $35,000 balance at 6.52%, that means about $40 of interest waived and a $50 match in the first month. Any balance left after 360 qualifying payments is forgiven.
RAP monthly payment
$150
4% of $45,000 ÷ 12
| Interest charged in month one | $190 |
| Interest waived in month one | $40 |
| Matching principal payment in month one | $50 |
| Paid off after | 22 yr 7 mo |
| Total you pay | $65,413 |
| Interest waived over the plan | $1,643 |
| Matching payments over the plan | $3,704 |
One rate applies to the whole AGI, by bracket of $10,000. Waiver and match need an on-time payment each month. How this is calculated.
The new income-driven plan, open since July 1, 2026, computed with the brackets of the law and simulated until payoff or forgiveness.
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The brackets, step by step
RAP does not protect a slice of income the way IBR does with 150% of the poverty guideline. It reads one number from your tax return, adjusted gross income, and applies a single percentage to it. At $30,000 the rate is 2% and the payment $50 a month; at $30,001 the rate becomes 3% and the payment $75. The table below shows the payment at the top of each bracket for a borrower without dependents.
| AGI | Rate | Monthly payment, no dependent | With 2 dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | 1% | $17 | $10 |
| $40,000 | 3% | $100 | $10 |
| $60,000 | 5% | $250 | $150 |
| $80,000 | 7% | $467 | $367 |
| $100,000 | 9% | $750 | $650 |
| $120,000 | 10% | $1,000 | $900 |
What a month on RAP does to the balance
Take the example of the Department's fact sheet of June 2026: $35,000 of loans, $45,000 of income, no dependent. At 6.52%, the month's interest is $190. The $150 payment covers $150 of it; the remaining $40 is waived. Nothing went to principal, so the Department reduces principal by $50. The balance falls even though the payment never touched principal. Over the whole plan, at a flat income, this borrower would still owe $16,892 after 360 payments, which would be forgiven, with $2,989 of interest waived and $12,019 of matching payments along the way.
The waiver and the match require an on-time payment for the month. Paying ahead normally advances your due date, and a month without a due date earns no match, so the regulation lets you ask the servicer not to advance it. How the waiver and the match work.
RAP or another plan
RAP is not always the cheapest monthly option. With a low income, IBR often asks less because the first $23,940 of a single borrower's income is ignored; with a high income and a small balance, the Tiered Standard plan can cost less in total because it ends sooner. A borrower with a loan made on or after July 1, 2026 can only choose between RAP and Tiered Standard. Run your case in the plan comparator, or read RAP vs IBR.
Recertification and missing paperwork
Your payment is set for 12 months from the income the Department gets from the IRS with your consent, or from documents you send. If income drops, you can ask for a new calculation at any time. If the Department asks for information and you do not provide it, the payment becomes what you would owe on a 10-year standard plan based on the balance when the loans entered repayment, until you answer. That amount is usually much higher, which is the practical reason to keep the IRS consent in place.
PSLF and RAP
On-time RAP payments count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness: the 2025 law added them to the list in section 455(m). A public servant on RAP can therefore reach the 120 payments with a low payment and have the rest forgiven tax-free. PSLF calculator.
Sources: Public Law 119-21, section 82001(d), 34 CFR 685.209, Department of Education fact sheet of June 9, 2026.