If you do nothing: Standard or Tiered Standard
A fixed payment that pays the loan off over the plan’s term: payment = balance × (r/12) ÷ (1 − (1 + r/12)−months). The Standard plan uses 10 years: $20,000 at 6.5% is $227.10 a month. Tiered Standard sets the term by your total Direct Loan balance, with a $50 monthly minimum:
Tiered Standard repayment period by balance| Total Direct Loan balance | Term |
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| Less than $25,000 | 10 years |
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| $25,000 up to $49,999 | 15 years |
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| $50,000 up to $99,999 | 20 years |
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| $100,000 or more | 25 years |
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Neither plan looks at your income, and Tiered Standard payments don’t count toward PSLF.
IBR (Income-Based Repayment)
10% of your income above 150% of the HHS poverty guideline if your first federal loan was taken out on or after July 1, 2014, or 15% if earlier, divided by 12. It is never more than the 10-year Standard payment on the same balance, and it can be $0. We use the 2026 guideline for the 48 contiguous states and DC: $15,960 for one person plus $5,680 per additional person. Example: AGI $55,000, family of one, so 150% of $15,960 is $23,940, leaving $31,060; 10% of that over 12 months is $258.83. Forgiveness comes after 20 years (25 if you borrowed before July 2014).
RAP (Repayment Assistance Plan)
A share of your whole adjusted gross income, set by the band your AGI falls in, divided by 12; then $50 off per dependent; never less than $10. Unlike IBR, RAP has no cap, so at higher incomes it can cost more than the Standard plan. Forgiveness comes after 360 qualifying payments (30 years).
RAP base payment by AGI Checked on StudentAid.gov Oct 19, 2026| Adjusted gross income | Share of AGI per year |
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| $10,000 or less | $120 a year ($10 a month) |
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| $10,001 to $20,000 | 1% |
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| $20,001 to $30,000 | 2% |
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| $30,001 to $40,000 | 3% |
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| $40,001 to $50,000 | 4% |
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| $50,001 to $60,000 | 5% |
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| $60,001 to $70,000 | 6% |
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| $70,001 to $80,000 | 7% |
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| $80,001 to $90,000 | 8% |
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| $90,001 to $100,000 | 9% |
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| More than $100,000 | 10% |
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Example: AGI $50,001 is in the 5% band, so $50,001 × 5% ÷ 12 = $208.34, minus $100 for two dependents = $108.34. At exactly $50,000 the band is 4%, so the same family pays $66.67.
Switching from RAP back to IBR
You can move from RAP back to IBR any time. But months you pay under RAP generally will not count toward IBR's forgiveness clock if you switch back, so if forgiveness timeline matters to you, this choice is closer to one-way than it looks. A RAP month only counts toward IBR if you paid at least the 10-year Standard amount that month.
PAYE and ICR end by July 1, 2028
That’s why this tool compares IBR and RAP: IBR has no end date, while PAYE and ICR stop no later than July 1, 2028 and their borrowers move to IBR or RAP.