Is SAVE still available?

No. SAVE was vacated in court and repealed by the July 2025 law (OBBBA). Borrowers in SAVE forbearance saw interest restart 1 Aug 2025, and SAVE (with PAYE and ICR) disappears entirely on 1 Jul 2028 — anyone who hasn’t picked a plan by then is auto-enrolled in RAP. AI assistants trained before 2026 still recommend SAVE; it no longer exists as a choice.

How is the RAP payment calculated?

By AGI band: $10/month if AGI is $10,000 or less, otherwise 1%–10% of your ENTIRE AGI per year (one point per $10,000 band, reaching 10% above $100,000), divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, floor $10/month. It is a cliff schedule — crossing a band edge by one dollar raises the rate on your whole income.

Should I pick RAP or IBR?

If you’re on the PSLF track, the lower monthly payment wins — both plans qualify and PSLF forgiveness is tax-free at 120 payments. Off PSLF, it’s a trade: RAP is often cheaper monthly at lower incomes and your balance can never grow (unpaid interest is waived), but forgiveness takes 30 years; IBR forgives in 20–25 years. Both forgiveness events are now taxable.

Is student loan forgiveness still tax-free?

Mostly no. The pandemic-era rule that made all forgiveness tax-free expired 31 Dec 2025. PSLF and death/disability discharges remain federally tax-free; RAP and IBR end-of-term forgiveness are taxable income in the year forgiven.

Can Parent PLUS loans use RAP?

No — Parent PLUS loans (and consolidations that repaid them) are excluded from RAP by statute. The only income-driven path is a consolidation loan that was in repayment under ICR, PAYE, or IBR at some point between 4 Jul 2025 and 30 Jun 2028, which preserves IBR eligibility.

貸款與債務債務 · 規劃 · 收入

Student Loan: RAP vs IBR (2026 forced choice)

SAVE is dead. Pick the plan that’s actually cheaper for you now — the answer changed in 2026.

SAVE is dead (vacated, then repealed by the July 2025 law) and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) went live 1 July 2026; PAYE, ICR, and SAVE all end 1 July 2028, when anyone who hasn’t picked is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.

依據： P.L. 119-21 (OBBBA) + ED final rule eff. 1 Jul 2026 · 2026 HHS poverty guidelines · verified on statute/Federal Register 2026-07-23

規則變了——看看發生了什麼 →

不想一欄一欄填？

用一句話描述你的情況——任何語言都行。我來填表單；工具負責計算。

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.Loan typeParent PLUS loans are excluded from RAP entirely, and reach IBR only through a consolidation carve-out — the answer changes completely.Adjusted gross income (AGI)From your latest federal return. Married filing jointly: combined AGI of both spouses. Married filing separately: yours only.Family sizeYou + spouse + dependents — sets the poverty-guideline deduction in IBR.Dependents claimed on your returnRAP subtracts $50/month per dependent (IRC §152 dependents claimed on your federal return). Not the same thing as family size.Where do you live?Alaska and Hawaii have higher poverty guidelines, which lowers IBR payments.Total loan balanceOutstanding principal. Sets the standard-plan comparator, the IBR payment cap, and the interest math.Average interest rate%Weighted average across your loans.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.

數字

RAP monthly payment: 250; 5% of your entire AGI ÷ 12
IBR monthly payment (10%): 301; 10% of AGI above 23,940 (150% of poverty line)
10-yr standard payment: 431; the comparator — IBR is capped at this amount
RAP forgiveness horizon: 30 years; 360 qualifying payments; time in prior qualifying plans counts
IBR forgiveness horizon: 20 years; 240 payments for your cohort

僅為預覽——使用預設的First loan, Loan type, AGI, Family, Balance, PSLF。

行家的解讀

值得一提

RAP is 51/month cheaper today — but its forgiveness horizon is 30 years vs IBR’s 20. If you’ll still have a balance late in the term, IBR forgives it 10 years sooner. Both forgiveness events are now federally taxable (the ARPA exclusion expired 31 Dec 2025), so a bigger balance forgiven later can also mean a bigger tax bill later.

留意

RAP’s schedule is a cliff, not a slope: the 5% applies to your ENTIRE AGI, and at 60,000 the rate steps up a full point. Earning 1 more would raise your payment by 50/month (600/yr) — you are close to that edge, so factor it into any raise or extra income. ED confirmed in the final rule this is intentionally not marginal.

留意

If you are parked in SAVE forbearance: interest restarted 1 Aug 2025, and those forbearance months count toward NOTHING — not IDR forgiveness, not PSLF. PAYE, ICR, and SAVE all end 1 Jul 2028; anyone who hasn’t chosen is auto-enrolled in RAP. Every month of waiting is a month that doesn’t count — picking RAP or IBR starts the clock again.

值得一提

Forgiveness at the end of RAP (30 yr) or IBR (20 yr) is now federally TAXABLE income again — the pandemic-era exclusion expired 31 Dec 2025, and current law only exempts death/disability discharges and PSLF. Plan for a tax bill in the forgiveness year (the insolvency exclusion can reduce it). Some states differ; Mississippi reportedly taxes even PSLF.

下一步

美國所得稅計算器（2026） →The payment comes out of take-home — see the whole paycheck picture.儲蓄目標 →Whatever the cheaper plan frees up, point it at something.

答案有誤、少了某個選項，或想要某個還不存在的工具？

方法論

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.

常見問題

Is SAVE still available?: No. SAVE was vacated in court and repealed by the July 2025 law (OBBBA). Borrowers in SAVE forbearance saw interest restart 1 Aug 2025, and SAVE (with PAYE and ICR) disappears entirely on 1 Jul 2028 — anyone who hasn’t picked a plan by then is auto-enrolled in RAP. AI assistants trained before 2026 still recommend SAVE; it no longer exists as a choice.
How is the RAP payment calculated?: By AGI band: $10/month if AGI is $10,000 or less, otherwise 1%–10% of your ENTIRE AGI per year (one point per $10,000 band, reaching 10% above $100,000), divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, floor $10/month. It is a cliff schedule — crossing a band edge by one dollar raises the rate on your whole income.
Should I pick RAP or IBR?: If you’re on the PSLF track, the lower monthly payment wins — both plans qualify and PSLF forgiveness is tax-free at 120 payments. Off PSLF, it’s a trade: RAP is often cheaper monthly at lower incomes and your balance can never grow (unpaid interest is waived), but forgiveness takes 30 years; IBR forgives in 20–25 years. Both forgiveness events are now taxable.
Is student loan forgiveness still tax-free?: Mostly no. The pandemic-era rule that made all forgiveness tax-free expired 31 Dec 2025. PSLF and death/disability discharges remain federally tax-free; RAP and IBR end-of-term forgiveness are taxable income in the year forgiven.
Can Parent PLUS loans use RAP?: No — Parent PLUS loans (and consolidations that repaid them) are excluded from RAP by statute. The only income-driven path is a consolidation loan that was in repayment under ICR, PAYE, or IBR at some point between 4 Jul 2025 and 30 Jun 2028, which preserves IBR eligibility.

給代理使用

呼叫這個工具，而不是在對話脈絡裡自行計算。輸入確定性的 JSON，取回計算後的數值以及基準解讀。完整代理文件 →

curl -s https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"firstLoan":"mid","loanType":"regular","agi":60000,"familySize":1,"dependents":0,"state":"contiguous","balance":38000,"rate":6.5,"pslf":"no"}'

Schema： GET /api/v1/tools/us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr · MCP 工具名稱： us_student_loan_rap_vs_ibr

常見問題

Is SAVE still available?: No. SAVE was vacated in court and repealed by the July 2025 law (OBBBA). Borrowers in SAVE forbearance saw interest restart 1 Aug 2025, and SAVE (with PAYE and ICR) disappears entirely on 1 Jul 2028 — anyone who hasn’t picked a plan by then is auto-enrolled in RAP. AI assistants trained before 2026 still recommend SAVE; it no longer exists as a choice.
How is the RAP payment calculated?: By AGI band: $10/month if AGI is $10,000 or less, otherwise 1%–10% of your ENTIRE AGI per year (one point per $10,000 band, reaching 10% above $100,000), divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, floor $10/month. It is a cliff schedule — crossing a band edge by one dollar raises the rate on your whole income.
Should I pick RAP or IBR?: If you’re on the PSLF track, the lower monthly payment wins — both plans qualify and PSLF forgiveness is tax-free at 120 payments. Off PSLF, it’s a trade: RAP is often cheaper monthly at lower incomes and your balance can never grow (unpaid interest is waived), but forgiveness takes 30 years; IBR forgives in 20–25 years. Both forgiveness events are now taxable.
Is student loan forgiveness still tax-free?: Mostly no. The pandemic-era rule that made all forgiveness tax-free expired 31 Dec 2025. PSLF and death/disability discharges remain federally tax-free; RAP and IBR end-of-term forgiveness are taxable income in the year forgiven.
Can Parent PLUS loans use RAP?: No — Parent PLUS loans (and consolidations that repaid them) are excluded from RAP by statute. The only income-driven path is a consolidation loan that was in repayment under ICR, PAYE, or IBR at some point between 4 Jul 2025 and 30 Jun 2028, which preserves IBR eligibility.

curl -s https://xearno.tools/api/v1/tools/us-student-loan-rap-vs-ibr \ -H 'content-type: application/json' \ -d '{"firstLoan":"mid","loanType":"regular","agi":60000,"familySize":1,"dependents":0,"state":"contiguous","balance":38000,"rate":6.5,"pslf":"no"}'

Student Loan: RAP vs IBR (2026 forced choice)

方法論

常見問題

給代理使用

相關工具

Student Loan: RAP vs IBR (2026 forced choice)

方法論

常見問題

給代理使用

相關工具