Public Service Loan Forgiveness requires 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for government or 501(c)(3). After 120 payments, the remaining balance is forgiven tax-free. Qualifying plans include IBR, PAYE, ICR, and Standard 10-year.

Student Loan Calculator 2026

Q: Will I owe taxes on student loan forgiveness?

Yes — as of January 1, 2026. The ARPA tax exemption expired. IDR and RAP forgiveness is taxable income. Exceptions: PSLF forgiveness is always tax-free, and forgiveness due to death or total/permanent disability is tax-free.

Q: Should I refinance my federal student loans?

Refinancing converts federal loans to private, permanently losing income-driven repayment, PSLF eligibility, deferment, forbearance, and forgiveness programs. Only refinance if you have stable high income, aren't pursuing PSLF, and the rate savings are significant.

SAVE is dead. RAP starts in July. Compare every repayment plan side-by-side — with the tax bomb you'll owe on forgiveness.

Loan balance

Total federal student loan balance

Interest rate

2025-26 undergrad: 6.39%, grad: 7.94%

Annual income (AGI)

Family size

State

Affects Federal Poverty Level threshold

Income growth rate

%/yr

Filing status

First loan disbursement

Affects IBR version (10% vs 15%)

I work for a qualifying employer (government / 501(c)(3))

March 2026 update: SAVE plan permanently ended by court order (March 9, 2026). RAP opens July 1, 2026. IDR forgiveness is taxable income again.

Try another scenario

How to Use This Calculator

Tab "Compare Plans"

Enter your loan balance, interest rate, annual income (AGI), and family size. The calculator models every available federal repayment plan side-by-side — Standard, Graduated, Extended, IBR, PAYE, ICR, and the upcoming RAP — with year-by-year income growth projections. Each plan shows monthly payment in year 1, total paid, forgiveness amount, the tax you'll owe on that forgiveness, and net cost. Check the PSLF box if you work for government or a 501(c)(3) to see tax-free 10-year forgiveness options.

Tab "PSLF Tracker"

If you're pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, enter your current balance, qualifying payments already made (0–120), and your repayment plan. The tracker shows exactly how many payments remain, your projected monthly payment with income growth, total you'll pay before forgiveness, the amount forgiven (tax-free under PSLF), and savings compared to standard 10-year repayment. The progress bar shows where you stand on the road to 120 payments.

Tab "Refinance Check"

Considering a private refinance for a lower rate? Enter your current federal rate and the private refinance rate you'd qualify for. The calculator compares keeping federal loans (best IDR plan) vs. refinancing — side-by-side with monthly payments, total cost, forgiveness potential, and protections lost. Color-coded verdict: green (refinancing clearly saves money), yellow (risky trade-off), or red (don't do it).

The Plans Explained (March 2026)

Standard 10-Year: Fixed payments over 120 months. Minimum $50/mo. No forgiveness — you pay it all.

Graduated: Starts at ~60% of Standard, increases ~15% every 2 years. Same 10-year term. Good if your income is low now but rising fast.

Extended (25-Year): Fixed payments over 300 months. Requires balance > $30,000. Lower monthly payment, but much more interest.

ICR (Income-Contingent): 20% of discretionary income (AGI − 100% FPL). 25-year forgiveness. Most generous poverty line threshold.

IBR (Income-Based): Pre-July 2014 borrowers: 15% of discretionary income (AGI − 150% FPL), 25-year forgiveness. Post-July 2014: 10%, 20-year forgiveness.

PAYE (Pay As You Earn): 10% of discretionary income (AGI − 150% FPL), capped at Standard payment. 20-year forgiveness. Closes to new enrollees June 30, 2028.

SAVE: Permanently ended by 8th Circuit court order, March 9, 2026. Enrolled borrowers are in administrative forbearance and must choose another plan.

RAP (Repayment Assistance Plan): Opens July 1, 2026 under OBBBA. Bracketed 1–10% of total AGI, $50/dependent deduction, $10/mo minimum. 30-year forgiveness. Final rules not yet published.

The Formulas

Discretionary Income (DI):
ICR: DI = max(0, AGI − 1.00 × FPL)
IBR/PAYE: DI = max(0, AGI − 1.50 × FPL)

2026 Federal Poverty Level (48 contiguous states):
FPL = $15,960 + (family size − 1) × $5,680
Alaska: $19,950 + (n−1) × $7,100 · Hawaii: $18,360 + (n−1) × $6,530

IDR Monthly Payment:
IBR (pre-2014): min(DI × 15% / 12, Standard 10-yr payment)
IBR (post-2014): min(DI × 10% / 12, Standard 10-yr payment)
PAYE: min(DI × 10% / 12, Standard 10-yr payment)
ICR: min(DI × 20% / 12, 12-year standard payment)

RAP (Jul 2026):
Bracketed: ≤$10K → $120/yr flat; $10K–$20K → 1%; $20K–$30K → 2%; ... $90K–$100K → 9%; >$100K → 10%
Monthly = max($10, AGI × bracket% / 12 − $50 × dependents)

Income Growth Projection:
AGI_year = AGI × (1 + growth rate)^year
IDR payment recalculated each year with updated AGI — this is the key differentiator.

Tax Bomb on Forgiveness (post-ARPA, effective Jan 1, 2026):
Forgiven amount added to AGI in forgiveness year
Tax = marginal rate at (projected AGI + forgiven amount)
Exception: PSLF forgiveness is tax-free. Death and disability forgiveness are tax-free.

2026 Tax Brackets (Single):
10%: $0–$12,400 · 12%: –$50,400 · 22%: –$105,700 · 24%: –$201,775 · 32%: –$256,225 · 35%: –$640,600 · 37%: above

Example

Jason — Software Engineer in Austin, TX

$45,000 in federal student loans at 6.39%, starting salary $65,000, growing 5%/year. Single, family size 1.

Standard 10-Year$510/mo, $61,200 total, $0 forgiven

PAYE$220/mo (yr 1), $49,800 total, $18,400 forgiven, ~$4,050 tax

PAYE net cost$53,850 — lowest without PSLF

PAYE + PSLF$33,600 total, $28,200 forgiven tax-free

Without PSLF, PAYE costs Jason $7,350 less than Standard — even after the tax bomb. But if Jason takes a government job, PSLF saves him $27,600 total. The income growth modeling matters: at 5%/year, Jason's payments climb from $220 to $430 by year 10. Static-income calculators miss this completely.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened to the SAVE plan?▼

The SAVE plan was permanently ended by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on March 9, 2026, enforcing a settlement that bans the plan. Borrowers who were enrolled in SAVE have been placed in administrative forbearance. They must choose another income-driven repayment plan (IBR, PAYE, or ICR) or switch to Standard/Graduated/Extended repayment. The new RAP plan opening July 1, 2026 is designed to replace SAVE.

What is the new RAP plan?▼

The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) was signed into law on July 4, 2025 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It opens for enrollment on July 1, 2026. RAP uses a bracketed payment structure: 1–10% of your total AGI depending on income level, with a $50/month deduction per dependent and a $10/month minimum. Forgiveness comes after 30 years of payments. Important: final rules haven't been published yet, so some details may change. Legacy IDR plans (IBR, PAYE, ICR) remain available until at least June 30, 2028 for existing borrowers.

Will I owe taxes on student loan forgiveness?▼

Yes — as of January 1, 2026. The ARPA tax exemption for student loan forgiveness expired at the end of 2025, and the OBBBA did not extend it. Any balance forgiven under IDR or RAP plans is treated as taxable income in the year of forgiveness. The "tax bomb" can be significant: if $50,000 is forgiven when your AGI is $80,000, you'd owe roughly $11,000 in additional federal taxes. Two exceptions: PSLF forgiveness is always tax-free, and forgiveness due to death or total/permanent disability is tax-free.

Should I refinance my federal student loans?▼

Refinancing converts federal loans to private, permanently stripping federal protections: income-driven repayment, PSLF eligibility, deferment, forbearance, and all forgiveness programs. Consider refinancing only if: (1) you have stable, high income unlikely to decrease, (2) you're not pursuing PSLF, (3) the rate difference saves meaningful money, and (4) you have an emergency fund to cover payments during hardship. If any of these aren't true, keep your federal loans. Use the "Refinance Check" tab to compare your specific numbers.

How does PSLF work?▼

Public Service Loan Forgiveness requires 120 qualifying monthly payments (10 years) while working full-time for a qualifying employer (federal/state/local government or 501(c)(3) nonprofit). Qualifying payments must be made under an income-driven repayment plan (IBR, PAYE, ICR) or the Standard 10-year plan. After 120 payments, the remaining balance is forgiven tax-free — this is the key advantage over IDR forgiveness, which is taxable. You must submit an Employment Certification Form annually and apply for forgiveness after the 120th payment.

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