neo@web:~ $ cat income-driven-repayment-and-pslf.md
$ cd ../pslf-calculator -- back to the calculator
Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans and PSLF are built to work together: IDR keeps your monthly payment tied to your income while your 120-payment clock runs, so the maximum balance remains to be forgiven. IBR, PAYE, and ICR are the current IDR options. As of October 2026, the SAVE plan has been shut down by court order and a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) exists, so confirm the current plan list on studentaid.gov.
PSLF takes a minimum of 10 years, and the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan also pays off a loan in 10 years. If you make 120 Standard Plan payments, there is usually nothing left to forgive, which makes the whole exercise pointless. An income-driven plan solves this by setting your payment from your income and family size instead of from the loan balance. Early in a public-service career, when income is often lower, the payment can be far below the Standard amount, and it can even be $0. You pay less over the 10 years, more of the balance survives to month 120, and PSLF forgives what remains. That is why Federal Student Aid tells borrowers to use an IDR plan if they want to get the most value out of PSLF.
Income-Based Repayment (IBR). Payments are 10% of discretionary income if you were a new borrower on or after July 1, 2014, or 15% if you borrowed earlier. Remaining balance is forgiven after 20 or 25 years on the plan itself. IBR is open to new enrollments and is the default IDR option most PSLF borrowers choose now.
Pay As You Earn (PAYE). Payments are 10% of discretionary income, never more than the 10-year Standard Plan amount. Forgiveness after 20 years on the plan. PAYE is currently available but scheduled to sunset in July 2028 under current law, so borrowers on PAYE will eventually need to pick another plan.
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). Payments are the lesser of 20% of discretionary income or what you would pay on a fixed 12-year plan. Forgiveness after 25 years. ICR is also scheduled to sunset in July 2028. It was historically the plan Parent PLUS borrowers used after consolidation.
The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, created in 2023, offered the lowest payments of any IDR plan and drew in millions of borrowers. Republican-led states sued, arguing the administration exceeded its authority, and the Eighth Circuit blocked the plan in 2024, putting enrollees in administrative forbearance. After further litigation, the plan was shut down: the Department of Education confirmed its end effective March 2026. If you were on SAVE, you should have received notices to switch plans, and any months in SAVE-related forbearance generally did not advance your PSLF count. Do not rely on SAVE-era articles or calculators that still list it as an option.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, created the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), with payments ranging from 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income and forgiveness after 30 years on the plan. For new borrowers starting July 2026, the plan menu narrows sharply. How RAP interacts with PSLF qualifying-payment rules is still being worked out by the Department of Education. Treat any article that states RAP's PSLF treatment as settled fact with suspicion, and check studentaid.gov for the current official list of PSLF-qualifying plans before you enroll.
On any IDR plan, you must recertify your income and family size every year. Miss the deadline and your payment can jump to the Standard Plan amount, and the months can stop counting cleanly toward PSLF. Put the recertification deadline in your calendar with a two-week advance reminder. A raise does not disqualify you from PSLF; it just raises your payment. Use the PSLF calculator to model how income growth changes your projected forgiven balance.
Income-driven repayment plans (IBR, PAYE, ICR) and the 10-year Standard Plan qualify. Check studentaid.gov for the current list, because plan options changed in 2026.
No. As of October 2026, the SAVE plan has been shut down following a federal court order. Borrowers who were on SAVE need to choose a different plan.
The 10-year Standard Plan typically pays off the loan in 10 years, the same length as the PSLF timeline, leaving little or nothing to forgive. Income-driven plans keep payments lower, so more balance remains to be forgiven.
RAP is a new repayment plan created by 2025 legislation, with payments from 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income. Its interaction with PSLF is still developing; confirm details on studentaid.gov.
Program rules as of October 2026 - Source: Federal Student Aid (studentaid.gov). Estimates only. Verify your payment count and plan eligibility with Federal Student Aid or your loan servicer. This is not financial or legal advice.