Your first month
- Interest charged$190.17
- Your payment covers interest$190.17
- …and principal$39.00
- Government principal match$11.00
- Your balance goes down by$50.00
On-time RAP payments always shrink the balance. How the waiver and match work
Repayment Assistance Plan · July 2026 rules
Repayment Assistance Plan calculator
Your RAP payment with every step shown, what the plan waives and matches each month, and how it compares with IBR and the standard plans.
Your estimated RAP payment
$229.17/month
5% of $55,000 AGI = $2,750.00 a year ÷ 12 = $229.17.
$5,000 above the next lower bracket. RAP charges its percentage on your whole AGI, so an AGI $5,000 lower ($50,000) would cut this payment from $229.17 to $166.67 a month, $750 a year. Pre-tax 401(k), 403(b) or HSA contributions, or a deductible traditional IRA contribution, lower AGI. How the brackets work
Over time
Paid off in 13 years 6 months
- Total you pay$55,642
- Principal matched$116
With a 3% yearly raise and payments recalculated each year.
Other plans you can use
- Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)$229.17/mo$55,642 total
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR)$258.83/mo$55,895 total
- 10-year Standard$397.78/mo$47,733 total
Estimates for planning. Assumes on-time payments, a fixed 6.52% rate, a 3% yearly raise, yearly recertification, the same dependents, and no deferment or forbearance. Your servicer's calculation decides the real payment. Sources and methods
What the Repayment Assistance Plan is
The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is the income-driven repayment plan created by the 2025 budget law (Public Law 119-21) and written into the Direct Loan regulations at 34 CFR 685.209. It opened on July 1, 2026. It is now the only income-driven plan for anyone who takes out a new federal Direct Loan, and the plan that borrowers on PAYE and ICR are moved into if they don't choose another plan before July 1, 2028.
Three things make RAP different from the plans before it. Your payment is a percentage of your whole adjusted gross income (AGI), not of "discretionary income" above a poverty line. Any interest your on-time payment doesn't cover is waived, so your balance cannot grow. And if your payment doesn't reduce your principal by at least $50, the government matches the difference.
How the RAP payment is calculated
Start with your AGI from your latest federal tax return (Form 1040, line 11). On a joint return, use the couple's combined AGI. Find the bracket it falls in:
| AGI | Annual base payment |
|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $120 |
| $10,001 to $20,000 | 1% of AGI |
| $20,001 to $30,000 | 2% of AGI |
| $30,001 to $40,000 | 3% of AGI |
| $40,001 to $50,000 | 4% of AGI |
| $50,001 to $60,000 | 5% of AGI |
| $60,001 to $70,000 | 6% of AGI |
| $70,001 to $80,000 | 7% of AGI |
| $80,001 to $90,000 | 8% of AGI |
| $90,001 to $100,000 | 9% of AGI |
| Over $100,000 | 10% of AGI |
Divide the annual amount by 12, then subtract $50 for each dependent you claim on your tax return. If the result is under $10, you pay $10. A single borrower earning $55,000 with no dependents pays 5% of $55,000 = $2,750 a year, or $229.17 a month; with one dependent, $179.17.
Because the percentage applies to every dollar of AGI, crossing a bracket edge raises the payment all at once. At $80,000 the payment is $466.67 a month; at $80,001 it is $533.34. The calculator flags when you are just over an edge and shows what a lower AGI, for example from pre-tax retirement contributions, would save. The payment chart lists every bracket edge.
If you are married and file jointly, the payment is based on the combined AGI and then split by your share of the couple's federal student loan balances when your spouse has loans too. If you file separately, only your own AGI and the dependents on your own return count. RAP for married borrowers walks through both.
What happens to each payment
Each on-time payment goes to interest first and then principal, with two protections no earlier plan combined:
- Interest waiver. Interest your payment doesn't cover is not charged. With a $30,000 balance at 6%, a month's interest is $150; a $50 payment covers $50 of it and the other $100 is waived.
- Principal match. If your payment reduces principal by less than $50, the government reduces it by the difference, up to $50 or up to your payment, whichever is smaller. That $50 payment above also lowers the principal by $50.
So an on-time RAP payment always shrinks your balance. The interest waiver and principal match guide works through the cases.
Forgiveness after 30 years
After 360 qualifying monthly payments, what remains is forgiven. Qualifying payments include on-time RAP and Tiered Standard payments, IBR payments, payments before July 1, 2028 under PAYE, ICR or SAVE, payments of at least the 10-year standard amount under any plan, and months of unemployment or economic hardship deferment. If you have already made years of income-driven payments, enter them under "More details" and the calculator counts them.
Forgiveness after 2025 is taxable federal income, because the pandemic-era exclusion expired on December 31, 2025. The calculator estimates the tax at the rate you choose. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is different: RAP payments count toward PSLF, and PSLF forgiveness after 120 payments is tax-free. See RAP and PSLF.
Who can use RAP, and whether it's your best plan
RAP covers Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS loans and Direct Consolidation loans that did not repay a parent PLUS loan. Parent PLUS loans are not eligible. If you have a federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026, your only choices are RAP and the Tiered Standard plan.
If all your loans are older, you can also choose IBR or the 10-year Standard plan, and the best choice depends on your numbers. RAP often has the lower payment and helps borrowers who will pay the loan off, because none of their payment is wasted on interest that keeps growing. IBR forgives after 20 or 25 years instead of 30 and can be $0 at low incomes, so large balances and low incomes often cost less there.
Next steps:
- Compare every plan on your numbers: RAP vs IBR
- Switch plans at StudentAid.gov: how to apply for RAP
- Coming from SAVE: what to do now
Common questions
How is the RAP payment calculated?
Take the percentage for your AGI bracket (1% to 10%) of your whole AGI, divide by 12, and subtract $50 for each dependent you claim. The payment is never less than $10 a month. At $55,000 AGI with no dependents that is 5% of $55,000, or $229.17 a month.
Is there a $0 payment under RAP?
No. RAP's minimum is $10 a month, even with an AGI of $10,000 or less or with dependents that would take the payment below zero. IBR can still have a $0 payment for borrowers who can use it.
Who can use the Repayment Assistance Plan?
Borrowers with Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Grad PLUS and most Direct Consolidation loans. Parent PLUS loans and consolidations that repaid them are not eligible. Anyone with a Direct Loan made on or after July 1, 2026 can use only RAP or the Tiered Standard plan.
When is RAP forgiveness, and is it taxed?
The remaining balance is forgiven after 360 qualifying monthly payments, which is 30 years. Payments already made under IBR, PAYE, ICR or SAVE count toward the 360. Forgiveness after 2025 is federal taxable income; PSLF forgiveness after 120 payments is tax-free.
Is this the government's calculator?
No. This is an independent calculator built from the federal regulation, 34 CFR 685.209. It is not affiliated with the Department of Education or any servicer, and it never asks for your FSA ID. Your servicer's calculation decides your actual payment.