How we compute your numbers

Every payment formula in LoanPilot comes from the text of the law that created these plans — Public Law 119-21 (July 2025) and the Higher Education Act — not from someone else's calculator. We cross-checked our results against three independent sources (the EDCAP nonprofit's calculator, Student Loan Planner, and The College Investor); they agree with ours to the cent.

RAP (Repayment Assistance Plan)

• Your yearly base amount is a percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI): 1% if your AGI is between $10,001 and $20,000, rising by one point for each $10,000, up to 10% above $100,000. At or below $10,000 AGI the base is $120.
• Your monthly payment is that base divided by 12, minus $50 for each dependent you claim on your taxes — but never less than $10/month.
• If your payment doesn't cover the month's interest, the rest of that interest is waived, so your balance never grows under RAP.
• If your payment reduces your principal by less than $50 in a month, the government tops up the principal reduction — by the difference between $50 (or your full payment, if it's smaller) and the principal you actually paid.
• Whatever is left after 360 qualifying monthly payments (30 years) is cancelled.

IBR (Income-Based Repayment)

• We subtract 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size (2026 figures: $15,960 + $5,680 per additional person, contiguous US) from your AGI. That's your "discretionary income."
• New borrowers (no federal loans before July 1, 2014) pay 10% of it, spread over 12 months, with forgiveness after 20 years. Earlier borrowers pay 15%, with forgiveness after 25 years.
• Your IBR payment is capped at what you'd pay on a 10-year Standard plan at the income you had when you entered IBR.

Standard and Tiered Standard

• The classic Standard plan spreads each loan over 10 years of equal payments at your interest rate.
• For loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, the new Standard plan picks your term from your total balance: under $25,000 → 10 years; $25,000 to under $50,000 → 15 years; $50,000 to under $100,000 → 20 years; $100,000 or more → 25 years.

Assumptions in every projection

• Your income stays flat and every payment arrives on time. Real life will differ; recalculate when your income changes.
• We round to whole cents at each step of the math, rounding half-cents away from zero.
• Multiple loans are simulated together at a balance-weighted rate for RAP and IBR projections; fixed plans amortize each loan separately.
• Poverty figures are the contiguous-US table; Alaska and Hawaii guidelines are higher, so IBR estimates there run slightly high.
• Estimates only — not financial advice. Confirm with your servicer before switching plans (a new loan or consolidation made on or after July 1, 2026 limits you to RAP or Tiered Standard for good).

LoanPilot home · Privacy · Support · Terms