{"slug":"us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr","name":"Student Loan: RAP vs IBR (2026 forced choice)","category":"borrow","tags":["debt","planning","income"],"region":"US","tagline":"Your monthly payment and forgiveness timeline under RAP vs IBR — the choice SAVE borrowers are being forced to make.","endpoint":"https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr","page":"https://xearno.tools/t/us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr","description":"SAVE is dead (vacated, then repealed by the July 2025 law) and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) went live 1 July 2026; PAYE, ICR, and SAVE all end 1 July 2028, when anyone who hasn’t picked is auto-enrolled in RAP. This tool computes your monthly payment under RAP (a %-of-AGI cliff schedule) and IBR (15% or 10% of discretionary income depending on when your first loan was disbursed), the forgiveness horizon for each (30 vs 25/20 years — and 10 tax-free years on PSLF), and the traps: RAP’s payment cliffs at every $10k of AGI, Parent PLUS exclusion, and the new default Tiered Standard plan not counting toward PSLF. General AI still recommends the dead SAVE plan and calls IDR forgiveness tax-free — the ARPA tax exclusion expired 31 Dec 2025.","inputSchema":{"type":"object","properties":{"firstLoan":{"description":"When was your FIRST federal loan disbursed? The decisive input. Your first-ever federal disbursement date sets WHICH IBR you get (15%/25yr vs 10%/20yr) — and loans originated from 1 Jul 2026 can’t use IBR at all. Taking any new loan on/after 1 Jul 2026 also ends IBR eligibility for your old loans.","type":"string","enum":["pre2014","mid","post2026"],"default":"mid"},"loanType":{"description":"Loan type Parent PLUS loans are excluded from RAP entirely, and reach IBR only through a consolidation carve-out — the answer changes completely.","type":"string","enum":["regular","parentPlus"],"default":"regular"},"agi":{"description":"Adjusted gross income (AGI) From your latest federal return. Married filing jointly: combined AGI of both spouses. Married filing separately: yours only.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":2000000,"default":60000},"familySize":{"description":"Family size You + spouse + dependents — sets the poverty-guideline deduction in IBR.","type":"number","minimum":1,"maximum":15,"default":1},"dependents":{"description":"Dependents claimed on your return RAP subtracts $50/month per dependent (IRC §152 dependents claimed on your federal return). Not the same thing as family size.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":12,"default":0},"state":{"description":"Where do you live? Alaska and Hawaii have higher poverty guidelines, which lowers IBR payments.","type":"string","enum":["contiguous","alaska","hawaii"],"default":"contiguous"},"balance":{"description":"Total loan balance Outstanding principal. Sets the standard-plan comparator, the IBR payment cap, and the interest math.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":1000000,"default":38000},"rate":{"description":"Average interest rate (%) Weighted average across your loans.","type":"number","minimum":0,"maximum":15,"default":6.5},"pslf":{"description":"Public Service Loan Forgiveness track? PSLF flips the strategy: forgiveness arrives at 120 qualifying payments and is federally TAX-FREE, so the lowest qualifying payment wins. Both RAP and IBR qualify; the new Tiered Standard plan does not.","type":"string","enum":["no","yes"],"default":"no"}},"required":[],"additionalProperties":false},"methodology":["RAP payment (34 CFR 685.209, eff. 1 Jul 2026): an annual base payment of $120 if AGI ≤ $10,000, else a percentage of TOTAL AGI — 1% for AGI over $10k up to $20k, rising one point per $10,000 band to 10% above $100,000. This is a cliff schedule, not marginal — ED’s final rule explicitly rejected marginal treatment. Monthly payment = annual base ÷ 12, minus $50 per dependent claimed on the borrower’s federal return, with a $10/month floor. Married filing jointly uses combined AGI; filing separately uses the borrower’s alone.","IBR payment: 15% of discretionary income for borrowers whose first loan disbursed before 1 Jul 2014 (25-yr forgiveness), 10% for first loans from 1 Jul 2014 to 30 Jun 2026 (20-yr forgiveness). Discretionary income = AGI − 150% of the 2026 HHS poverty guideline for your family size and state (48-state, Alaska, and Hawaii tables). Calculated payments under $5 become $0; $5–$10 become $10; payments are capped at the 10-year standard amount. The partial-financial-hardship entry test was eliminated in July 2025, so any Direct Loan borrower with pre-Jul-2026 loans can enroll (exception: 60+ SAVE/REPAYE payments made on/after 1 Jul 2024 bars IBR enrollment).","Plan availability: loans originated on/after 1 Jul 2026 may use only RAP or the new Tiered Standard plan (fixed payment over 10/15/20/25 years by balance under $25k/$50k/$100k/above). PAYE, ICR, and SAVE remain available only through 30 Jun 2028 and only to borrowers with no post-Jul-2026 loan; on 1 Jul 2028 remaining ICR/PAYE/SAVE borrowers are auto-enrolled in RAP (or IBR if their loans are RAP-ineligible). Parent PLUS loans and consolidations that repaid them are excluded from RAP; a consolidation repaid under ICR/PAYE/IBR at any point from 4 Jul 2025 to 30 Jun 2028 keeps IBR eligibility.","RAP interest and principal: on every on-time payment, unpaid accrued interest is waived (never capitalized), and if the payment reduces principal by less than $50, the government reduces principal so the total drop equals the lesser of $50 or the amount paid — the balance cannot grow under RAP.","Forgiveness: RAP after 360 qualifying payments (30 years) — on-time payments in prior qualifying plans (IBR, standard, and pre-2028 ICR/PAYE/SAVE payments including $0 SAVE payments) count; the SAVE litigation forbearance does not. IBR after 300 (15% cohort) or 240 (10% cohort) payments. PSLF after 120 qualifying payments with qualifying employment — RAP and IBR payments qualify; Tiered Standard does not.","Taxability: the ARPA exclusion for IDR forgiveness expired 31 Dec 2025, so RAP and IBR forgiveness are federal taxable income again; PSLF and death/disability discharges remain tax-free under IRC §108(f). State treatment varies.","This tool models current statute and regulations for planning; it is not financial or legal advice. Verify your plan choices and dates with your servicer and studentaid.gov."],"usage":"POST https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr with a JSON body matching inputSchema."}