Should I use income-driven repayment or the standard plan?

Compare the 10-year standard plan against income-driven repayment (IBR/PAYE) with forgiveness — monthly payment, lifetime cost and time to forgiveness.

Loan balance ($)

Interest rate (%)

Household size

Adjusted gross income ($)

Loan type (for forgiveness years)

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Standard payment ($/mo)

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IDR payment ($/mo)

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IDR forgiveness year & est. amount

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Total paid under each

How is the IDR payment computed?

Discretionary income = AGI − 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your household. Payment = 10% of discretionary income per year, spread monthly. IBR and PAYE share this core structure.

When does forgiveness happen?

Undergraduate loans: 20 years of qualifying payments under PAYE/IBR. Graduate loans: 25 years. The forgiven balance is taxed as income unless you're insolvent — budget for that tax bill.

SAVE plan?

SAVE was blocked and repealed — most borrowers are being moved to other plans. This tool keeps to the plans currently available (Standard, IBR, PAYE) so the comparison stays true.

What if my payment is $0?

With income below ~1.5× poverty, the IDR payment is $0 and every month still counts toward forgiveness. That's the safety net of IDR — run it with a low-income scenario to see.