Who we are
This is an independent calculator and guide to the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). It is not run by the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid or any loan servicer, and it is not affiliated with them. We don't enroll anyone in a plan, never ask for an FSA ID or loan login, and can't see your loans. For your actual loans and payment, use StudentAid.gov and your servicer.
Questions and corrections go to hello@repaymentassistanceplan.com. We correct errors quickly.
The rules we implement
- RAP payment: 34 CFR 685.209(b)(2) (the bracket table), (b)(3) (dependents), (e) (income and spouses), (f)(5) (the payment) and (g)(3) (the $10 minimum and the spouse split). These rules were published in the Federal Register on May 1, 2026 (91 FR 23887) and apply from July 1, 2026.
- Each RAP payment: (h)(4) (interest not charged), (o)(1) (principal postponed) and (o)(2) (the matching principal payment), with (o)(3) for on-time and advanced due dates.
- Forgiveness: (k)(7) and (k)(8) (360 qualifying payments and what counts toward them).
- IBR: (b)(1) and (b)(4) (discretionary income), (f)(2) and (f)(3) (10% or 15%, capped at the 10-year standard payment), (g)(1)(iii) (the $0 and $10 rules), (j)(2) (capitalization) and (k)(1) and (k)(2) (20 or 25 years).
- Fixed plans: 34 CFR 685.208(b)(1) (the 10-year Standard plan for older loans) and (b)(8) and (c)(1) (the Tiered Standard plan).
- PSLF: 34 CFR 685.219, whose definition of a qualifying repayment plan includes RAP.
- Loan limits: 34 CFR 685.200 and 685.203, and the Congressional Research Service's report R48727 on the 2025 law.
Dated facts that change
- HHS poverty guidelines for 2026 (Federal Register, January 15, 2026):
- 48 states and DC: $15,960 for one person plus $5,680 for each additional person;
- Alaska: $19,950 plus $7,100;
- Hawaii: $18,360 plus $6,530.
- Direct Loan rates for loans first disbursed July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027: 6.52% undergraduate, 8.07% graduate unsubsidized, 9.07% PLUS (Federal Student Aid announcement, June 4, 2026).
- SAVE: a court judgment ended the plan on March 10, 2026. Servicers began sending 90-day notices around July 1, 2026 (National Consumer Law Center, April 28, 2026).
- Taxes: the federal exclusion for income-driven forgiveness expired on December 31, 2025, and PSLF remains tax-free (NASFAA, January 2026).
How the calculator works
The payment follows the regulation step by step in whole cents, and every step is printed under the result. The long-run comparison simulates each plan month by month:
- Interest accrues monthly at your fixed rate.
- Each payment goes to interest first and then principal.
- Under RAP, uncovered interest is waived and the principal match is applied. Under IBR, unpaid interest accrues and capitalizes when the payment reaches the cap.
- Payments are recalculated each year from income grown by your expected raise, and the IBR poverty guideline grows with the inflation input.
- A plan stops at payoff, at forgiveness, or at PSLF's 120 payments when you tick PSLF.
What it doesn't model: deferments and forbearances, late payments, changes in dependents or a spouse's loans, FFEL or Perkins loans, IBR's three-year interest benefit on subsidized loans, state taxes on forgiveness, the insolvency exclusion, and consolidation's effect on payment counts. Treat its results as planning estimates, not a quote.
How it is tested
The engine has automated tests that recompute the regulation's rules by hand:
- every bracket edge, including that a bracket includes its upper bound;
- the dependent reduction and the $10 floor;
- the spouse split;
- the interest waiver and principal match in each case;
- the 360-payment and PSLF endpoints;
- IBR's poverty-guideline arithmetic, $0 and $10 rules and cap;
- amortization to the cent;
- the Tiered Standard terms.
The tests run every time the site is built. The worked examples on these pages come from the same engine as the calculator, so the two can't disagree.
Updates
When a rule, guideline or rate changes, we update the engine, its tests and every page that states the rule together, and change the "Updated" date on those pages.