RAP vs IBR Calculator

RAP vs IBR: how the two payments differ

The Repayment Assistance Plan takes a percentage of all of your AGI: 1% between $10,000 and $20,000, rising one point per $10,000 band to 10% above $100,000 (a flat $10 a month at $10,000 or less). It then subtracts $50 a month per dependent on your tax return and never goes below $10. Income-Based Repayment first protects 150% of the 2026 HHS poverty guideline for your family size ($15,960 for one person in the 48 states and DC, $21,640 for two, $33,000 for four) and takes 10% of what is left if your first federal loan was made on or after July 1, 2014, or 15% if it was made earlier. The IBR payment is capped at what the 10-year standard plan charged when you joined; RAP has no cap.

Worked example: $40,000 at 6.5% for a single borrower with no dependents, AGI of $55,000, first loan made in 2018. RAP: 5% of $55,000 is $2,750 a year, so $229.17 a month. IBR: 150% of the $15,960 guideline is $23,940, leaving $31,060 of discretionary income; 10% of that is $3,106 a year, so $258.83 a month. The 10-year standard payment is $454.19. RAP is $29.67 a month lower here, and because $216.67 of monthly interest leaves only $12.50 for principal, the government adds $37.50 so the balance falls by $50 every month. Add two children and the order flips: RAP drops by $100 to $129.17, while IBR for a family of three protects $40,980 and drops to $116.83.

Which plan is lower, and the trade-offs

With no dependents, IBR is usually lower for low incomes because it ignores the first $23,940 (one person, 2026) entirely, while RAP charges from the first dollar over $10,000. RAP pulls ahead as income rises, because its percentage applies to all income but the rate is lower than 10% until AGI passes $100,000, and every dependent takes $50 off. Large families do well on IBR too: each extra family member raises the protected income by $8,520 (150% of $5,680) in the 48 states. The calculator above does the comparison for your own numbers.

A lower payment is not the whole story. On IBR, interest your payment does not cover is added to what you owe; on RAP it is written off, and the balance always falls by at least $50 a month when you pay on time. IBR forgives after 20 or 25 years, RAP only after 30, though months already paid on SAVE, PAYE, ICR, IBR or a standard plan count toward RAP’s 360. Both plans count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If you can afford the standard payment, it costs the least in total and ends the soonest. The RAP calculator shows the interest waived and the principal match over the life of your loan.

Key dates: SAVE deadlines, PAYE and ICR ending, July 2028

A court order ended the SAVE plan in March 2026. Servicers started sending SAVE borrowers notices on July 1, 2026, and every SAVE borrower gets one before the end of 2026. You have 90 days from your notice to choose a plan, then a final 30-day notice; a borrower whose notice arrived July 1, 2026, had until September 29, 2026. Miss both and you are placed in the Standard plan (or the tiered standard plan if you have a loan made on or after July 1, 2026).

RAP and the tiered standard plan opened on July 1, 2026, and loans made from that date can only use those two. PAYE and ICR end no later than July 1, 2028; a borrower still on them who has not chosen is moved to RAP, or to IBR for loans RAP cannot take. IBR stays open for loans made before July 1, 2026. Borrowers enrolled in auto pay by December 31, 2026, get a 1 percentage point interest rate reduction through June 30, 2028.

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