Student Loan Repayment Simulator
These fields tell the calculator how much of a head start you have, both in terms of payments made towards forgiveness and the total money you've already spent. This reflects in the future projections for your remaining loan balance and total cost.
Current Loan Details
Personal Information
Expected Annual Income Growth
Calculator will assume 3% growth of your income by default. You can change this percentage, or manually enter your income yearly, after which the calculator will then consider the percent growth from then on.
Private and PSLF Options
To qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), you must meet a specific set of requirements related to your employer, your loans, your repayment plan, and the number of payments you've made. The program requires 120 qualifying payments.
Plan Comparison Summary
| Repayment Plan | First Month Payment | Total Paid | Total Interest | Forgiven Amount | Tax on Forgiveness | Total Cost | Years to Forgiveness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (10-year) | - | - | - | $0 | $0 | - | 10 |
| RAP (Proposed) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| IBR (New Borrower) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| SAVE | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Data Table Display Options
| Year | Adjusted Income | Standard | RAP Payment | IBR Payment | SAVE Payment | Standard Balance | RAP Balance | IBR Balance | SAVE Balance |
|---|
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- Standard Repayment Plan
- Fixed monthly payments to pay off your loan in 10 years. No forgiveness, lowest total interest.
- RAP (Repayment Assistance Plan - Proposed)
- Payments based on AGI tiers with interest and principal subsidies. 30-year forgiveness.
- IBR (Income-Based Repayment)
- Payments are 10% of discretionary income for new borrowers, capped at the Standard payment. 20-year forgiveness.
- SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education)
- Payments based on a high income protection threshold (225% of poverty line). Features a 100% interest subsidy.
- PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness)
- Tax-free forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments while working for an eligible employer.
- Discretionary Income
- Your AGI minus a percentage of the federal poverty guideline, used for IDR payment calculations.
- AGI (Adjusted Gross Income)
- Your total income minus specific deductions, used to calculate IDR payments.
- Family Size
- The number of people in your household, including yourself, your spouse, and any children or other dependents.
- Dependent Children
- Children who receive more than half of their financial support from you.
- Interest Subsidy
- Government payment of unpaid interest to prevent your loan balance from growing.
- Tax Bomb (Tax on Forgiveness)
- When a loan balance is forgiven under an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan (like IBR or SAVE), the forgiven amount is treated as taxable income by the IRS for that year. This can result in a large, unexpected tax bill.
For a month to count toward IDR forgiveness, it generally needs to meet the following criteria:
- Be in a Qualifying Repayment Plan:
- You must be enrolled in one of the four Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans: SAVE, PAYE, IBR, or ICR.
- In some cases, payments made on the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan can also count, though this is more relevant for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), as you would typically pay off your loan in 10 years anyway.
- Make the Full Payment Due:
- You must pay the full monthly amount as calculated by your loan servicer for your specific IDR plan. Partial payments do not count.
- This includes months where your calculated payment is $0. A required payment of $0 is considered a full, on-time qualifying payment.
- Be On-Time:
- The payment must be made no later than 15 days after your due date.
When Non-Payment Periods Also Count (Deferment & Forbearance)
This is where things have gotten more complex and beneficial for borrowers recently, thanks to a major IDR Account Adjustment by the Department of Education. This one-time adjustment was implemented to correct for past issues where borrowers were in long-term forbearances or other statuses that didn't count toward forgiveness when they should have been on an affordable IDR plan.
The adjustment allows certain months spent in deferment or forbearance to be credited as "qualifying payments." Here’s what counts:
Periods That Now Count Toward IDR Forgiveness:
- COVID-19 Payment Pause: Every month from March 2020 through August 2023 automatically counts as a qualifying payment, even though no payments were required.
- Long-Term Forbearance: Any month spent in forbearance for 12 or more consecutive months, or for a cumulative total of 36 or more months, now counts.
Specific Deferments:
- Any month spent in an Economic Hardship Deferment (in 2013 or later).
- Any month spent in a Military Service Deferment (in 2013 or later).
- Any month spent in any type of deferment (except for in-school deferment) before 2013.
Periods That Generally DO NOT Count:
- In-School Deferment: Time when you were enrolled in school does not count.
- Default: Any period when your loans were in default does not count.
- Grace Period: The six-month period after you leave school before payments begin does not count.
- Shorter-Term Forbearances: Forbearances that do not meet the "12 consecutive" or "36 cumulative" month thresholds typically do not count, unless they fall under another qualifying category.