Last reviewed: 3 October 2026
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Income-driven repayment plans compared: who can enroll, how the payment is set, when a balance is forgiven
An income-driven repayment (IDR) plan bases your monthly federal student loan payment on your income and family size.[2] The Department of Education's regulation lists five: REPAYE, IBR, PAYE, ICR and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).[2] They differ in who can enroll, how the payment is worked out, how unpaid interest is treated and when a remaining balance is forgiven. This page sets those rules side by side. It does not say which plan suits anyone.
The short version
- The regulation names five IDR plans. Per the regulation, REPAYE "may also be referred to as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan".[2]
- Which plans you can join depends on your loans and on dates. For PAYE and ICR, the regulation limits enrollment to borrowers who were already repaying under that plan on 1 July 2024, and only through 30 June 2028. For ICR it adds separate provisions for some consolidation loans that repaid parent PLUS loans.[2]
- Only Direct Loans made before 1 July 2026 may be repaid under PAYE, IBR and ICR.[2]
- A borrower repaying under PAYE or ICR must elect a repayment plan from a list in the regulation before 1 July 2028. If none is chosen, the regulation says the Secretary will require RAP or IBR.[2]
- The CFPB's page on IDR plans was last modified in June 2024. We use it for background and follow the regulation text for the rules below.[1]
Words used on this page
The first two come from the regulation. The last three are our plain-language glosses, not the regulation's wording.
- Discretionary income: the regulation defines it as the greater of $0 or the difference between your income and a set percentage of the federal poverty guideline.[2] The percentage depends on the plan (see the payment table).
- Poverty guideline: the guideline for your state and family size, published each year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.[2]
- Forgiveness (our gloss): cancellation of what is left on the loan after the required number of qualifying monthly payments.
- Direct Loan (our gloss): a federal student loan made directly by the Department of Education.
- Capitalized interest (our gloss): unpaid interest that is added to the loan balance.
Who can enroll
The table follows paragraphs (c) and (d) of the regulation. "Through June 30, 2028" appears in several of its enrollment rules. "New borrower" has its own definition for IBR and for PAYE in paragraph (b)(13); read it there.
| Plan | Who can enroll | Loans listed as eligible |
|---|---|---|
| REPAYE (may also be called SAVE) | Through June 30, 2028, a Direct Loan borrower who has not received a Direct Loan on or after July 1, 2026 and who has eligible loans.[2] | Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct PLUS Loans made to graduate or professional students, and Direct Consolidation Loans that are not "excepted consolidation loans."[2] |
| IBR | Any Direct Loan borrower with eligible loans who elects to have their payment recalculated so it does not exceed the plan's "applicable amount" on entry. A borrower with 60 or more qualifying repayments under REPAYE on or after July 1, 2024 may not enroll.[2] | The same four loan types. The regulation says defaulted loans are eligible.[2] |
| PAYE | Through June 30, 2028, only a "new borrower" (as the regulation defines it) with eligible loans who was repaying under PAYE on July 1, 2024 and has not received a Direct Loan on or after July 1, 2026.[2] | The same four loan types, through June 30, 2028.[2] |
| ICR | Through June 30, 2028, only a borrower with eligible loans who was repaying under ICR on July 1, 2024 and has not received a Direct Loan on or after July 1, 2026. Separate provisions cover some consolidation loans that repaid parent PLUS loans.[2] | Direct Subsidized, Direct Unsubsidized, Direct PLUS Loans made to graduate or professional students, and all Direct Consolidation Loans, except Direct PLUS Consolidation Loans made before July 1, 2006.[2] |
| RAP | Any Direct Loan borrower with eligible loans.[2] | The same four loan types as REPAYE. The regulation says defaulted loans are eligible.[2] |
Three further rules apply across the plans.
- Defaulted loans. The regulation says defaulted loans may not be repaid under an IDR plan, except as it provides for IBR and RAP.[2] It also sets three conditions for ending default status: the borrower supplies the information needed to calculate a payment, the payment comes to $0, and the income used includes the point at which the loan defaulted.[2] Our default guide covers default itself.
- Parent PLUS loans. The regulation calls a Direct PLUS Loan made to a parent borrower an "excepted" loan.[2] The CFPB says Parent PLUS loans cannot be repaid under any IDR plan, but a parent can consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan that qualifies for ICR.[1] The regulation attaches further conditions and dates to these loans, so read paragraphs (b)(6) to (b)(8) and (c)(5) before relying on this summary.
- One date to watch. The regulation says that, before July 1, 2028, a borrower repaying under PAYE or ICR must elect a plan from a list that includes RAP, IBR and the standard, graduated and extended plans.[2]
How the monthly payment is worked out
The percentages below apply to different thresholds, so the same percentage does not mean the same payment. That is our arithmetic note, not the regulation's.
| Plan | Payment formula, as the regulation states it | Threshold for "discretionary income" |
|---|---|---|
| REPAYE | $0 on income up to 225 percent of the poverty guideline. Above that, 5 percent of the excess, prorated by the share of the original balance borrowed for undergraduate study, plus 10 percent of the excess prorated for the rest of the balance, all divided by 12.[2] | 225 percent of the poverty guideline[2] |
| IBR, new borrower | The lesser of 10 percent of discretionary income divided by 12, or what the borrower would have paid on a 10-year standard plan, based on the loan balances and interest rates when the borrower began paying under IBR.[2] | 150 percent of the poverty guideline[2] |
| IBR, not a new borrower | The same formula, with 15 percent in place of 10 percent.[2] | 150 percent of the poverty guideline[2] |
| PAYE | The same formula as IBR for a new borrower: the lesser of 10 percent of discretionary income divided by 12, or the 10-year standard amount at the time the borrower began paying under PAYE.[2] | 150 percent of the poverty guideline[2] |
| ICR | The lesser of what the borrower would have paid on a 12-year fixed-payment plan, multiplied by an income-based percentage the Secretary sets in an annual Federal Register notice, or 20 percent of discretionary income divided by 12.[2] | 100 percent of the poverty guideline[2] |
| RAP | A base payment taken from a schedule of adjusted gross income (AGI) brackets, divided by 12, less a set amount for each dependent. The schedule and the amount are in the RAP note below.[2] | Not used; RAP is keyed to AGI[2] |
Income and family size. For REPAYE, IBR, PAYE and RAP, a married borrower who files a joint federal tax return has the combined income of both spouses counted. The exceptions are a borrower who certifies being separated or unable to reasonably access the spouse's income. A married borrower who files separately uses only their own income.[2] ICR has its own joint-repayment rules.[2] Except for RAP, family size counts the borrower, a spouse who files jointly, the borrower's children who get more than half their support from the borrower, and certain other people the borrower supports.[2]
Minimum payments. The regulation sets a floor for each plan:
- REPAYE, IBR and PAYE: a calculated payment under $5 becomes $0, and one from $5 to under $10 becomes $10.[2]
- ICR: a calculated payment above $0 and up to $5 is adjusted to $5.[2]
- RAP: a payment under $10 becomes $10, except that the final payment may be less.[2]
How unpaid interest is treated
This is the part of paragraph (h): what happens when the calculated payment does not cover the interest that has built up.
| Plan | Interest the payment does not cover |
|---|---|
| REPAYE | During all periods of repayment, the Secretary does not charge the borrower's account any accrued interest that the payment does not cover.[2] |
| IBR and PAYE | For the first three consecutive years of repayment under the plan, the Secretary does not charge the uncovered interest on Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Subsidized Consolidation Loans. The three years exclude any economic hardship deferment. Otherwise paragraph (h) says the Secretary charges the remaining accrued interest to the borrower.[2] |
| ICR | The Secretary charges all accrued interest to the borrower.[2] |
| RAP | The Secretary does not charge any accrued interest that is not covered by the borrower's on-time payment for that month.[2] |
The regulation says the Secretary capitalizes unpaid accrued interest as § 685.202(b) provides under RAP, REPAYE, PAYE and ICR.[2] Under IBR it also capitalizes interest when the payment is the 10-year-standard amount described in the formula and when a borrower leaves IBR.[2]
When a remaining balance is forgiven
| Plan | Qualifying monthly payments before forgiveness |
|---|---|
| REPAYE | 300 payments (over at least 25 years) if the borrower is repaying at least one loan received for graduate or professional study. 240 payments (at least 20 years) if only undergraduate loans. A separate rule for small original balances is in the REPAYE note below.[2] |
| IBR, not a new borrower | 300 payments, over at least 25 years.[2] |
| IBR, new borrower | 240 payments, over at least 20 years.[2] |
| PAYE | 240 payments, over at least 20 years.[2] |
| ICR | 300 payments, over at least 25 years.[2] |
| RAP | 360 payments, over at least 30 years.[2] |
The regulation says the Secretary tracks progress toward forgiveness and forgives loans that meet the criteria without an application or documentation from the borrower.[2] Paragraph (k)(4) lists what earns a month of credit under PAYE, ICR and IBR, and paragraph (k)(8) lists the qualifying payments under RAP. They include payments under the plan and months in certain listed deferments and forbearances.[2] For REPAYE, read the section itself. This page does not cover the tax treatment of a forgiven balance.
Two notes that apply to one plan only
REPAYE note. The regulation provides forgiveness after 120 monthly payments where the total original principal on all loans paid under REPAYE was $12,000 or less, plus "an additional 12 monthly payments" for every $1,000 if that total is above $12,000. Read paragraph (k)(3) for how the two parts fit together.[2]
RAP note. RAP's base payment depends on adjusted gross income. The regulation sets it as follows, and the applicable monthly payment is that base payment divided by 12, minus $50 for each dependent.[2] A dependent is a person who qualifies as a dependent under section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code and was claimed on the borrower's federal return.[2]
| Adjusted gross income | Base payment (RAP only) |
|---|---|
| Not more than $10,000 | $120 |
| More than $10,000, not more than $20,000 | 1 percent of AGI |
| More than $20,000, not more than $30,000 | 2 percent of AGI |
| More than $30,000, not more than $40,000 | 3 percent of AGI |
| More than $40,000, not more than $50,000 | 4 percent of AGI |
| More than $50,000, not more than $60,000 | 5 percent of AGI |
| More than $60,000, not more than $70,000 | 6 percent of AGI |
| More than $70,000, not more than $80,000 | 7 percent of AGI |
| More than $80,000, not more than $90,000 | 8 percent of AGI |
| More than $90,000, not more than $100,000 | 9 percent of AGI |
| More than $100,000 | 10 percent of AGI |
Under RAP, for each month with an on-time payment where the principal is reduced by less than $50, the regulation provides a matching principal reduction. The amount is the lesser of $50 or the payment made, minus the amount of the payment applied to principal.[2]
Rules that apply across plans
- Changing plans. A borrower repaying under an IDR plan may change at any time to any other repayment plan the borrower is eligible for, with exceptions in § 685.210(b).[2]
- Yearly recalculation. The payment is set for a 12-month period, using tax information the borrower approves for release or documents the borrower supplies.[2] If you think the payment does not reflect your current income and family size, you may ask the Secretary to recalculate it and submit alternative documentation.[2] The CFPB says an IBR borrower must submit documentation to the servicer each year.[1]
- If you do not supply the information. If needed documents are not provided by the time the last payment of the 12-month period is due, the regulation sets a fallback. For ICR and RAP it is a payment based on a 10-year standard plan. For REPAYE the borrower is removed from the plan and placed on an alternative plan with a 10-year standard payment. For IBR and PAYE it is the 10-year-standard amount in the formula above.[2]
- Automatic enrollment. The regulation lets the Secretary place a borrower on the eligible IDR plan with the lowest payment when conditions are met, including approval to disclose tax information and no scheduled payment for at least 75 days or being in default.[2]
- Cost to apply. The FTC says that, for federal loans, applying for the Department of Education's repayment and forgiveness programs is free.[3] See student loan debt-relief companies, explained.
How to verify this yourself
- Open the regulation text (reference 2) and read paragraphs (b) definitions, (c) and (d) eligibility, (f) payment, (h) interest and (k) forgiveness. Check the date in its source note against what you see.[2]
- Read the CFPB's page for background. It says you may be able to enroll online. It says older federal loans may need a call to your loan servicer. It says the Department's Loan Simulator can help you estimate whether you would benefit from IBR or qualify for PAYE.[1]
- The FTC names the Department of Education's StudentAid.gov, or your federal loan servicer, as places to learn more about your options.[3] Plan availability and dates are set there and in the regulation, so confirm them with your servicer before you act.
What this page does not cover
It does not calculate your payment or say which plan suits you. It does not cover private student loans, tax treatment of forgiven balances, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or Parent PLUS loans beyond the pointers above. It reflects the regulation text as shown in the eCFR on 3 October 2026 (source note 91 FR 23887, 1 May 2026) and the CFPB page last modified in June 2024; later amendments, court decisions or Department announcements are not reflected, so confirm current plan rules with your servicer. It is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Your next step
Find out which loans you have and who your servicer is. Then ask the servicer what each plan you can join would require, and consider the Loan Simulator the CFPB mentions. If you are in default, read our default guide. If a company offers to enroll you for a fee, read this guide first. For other debts, start at debt relief: where to start. Our Standard shows how we check companies that sell debt help.
When we will update this page
We revisit it when the regulation is amended or the CFPB revises its page. Sources last read 3 October 2026.
What you can do next
- Find a company — see which specific US companies we checked and what we could verify.
- How we check — the rules and sources behind each result.
- More credit help guides
- Report an error on this page or in a result.