Advertisement

This Income-Based Repayment Calculator implements the improved version of income-based repayment known as Pay as You Earn.

The original 15% version of income-based repayment was enacted by the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 and became available on July 1, 2009.

The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-152, March 30, 2010) cut the monthly loan payments under income-based repayment by one third from 15% of discretionary income to 10% of discretionary income and accelerated loan forgiveness from 25 years to 20 years, effective for new borrowers as of July 1, 2014.

President Obama used his regulatory authority to fast-track implementation of the improvements, starting December 21, 2012. This fast-tracking of the new income-based repayment plan modifies the regulations for the income-contingent repayment plan (a predecessor to income-based repayment) to transform it into the new income-based repayment plan. The Pay as You Earn repayment plan is available only to borrowers with at least one federal student loan disbursed on or after October 1, 2011 (FY2012) and no loans prior to October 1, 2007 (FY2008).

Because the fast-tracked version of Pay as You Earn was based on the income-contingent repayment plan, it is available only for loans in the Direct Loan program. Borrowers with loans in the FFEL program may consolidate their loans into a Direct Consolidation loan to qualify, even if they previously consolidated their loans in the FFEL program.

Borrowers who are ineligible for the 10% version of income-based repayment are eligible for the existing 15% version of the income-based repayment plan. Please use the 15% version of the income-based repayment calculator for borrowers who do not qualify for the 10% version of the income-based repayment plan.

This calculator compares the cost of repaying Federal student loans using the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) option and the standard repayment option, including the net present value of those payments.

Please click on the field names for help in using this calculator. For more information about discount rates, see also the discussion of net present value.

A married borrower who files a separate federal income tax return should include only his or her own loans. Public Law 110-153 modified the treatment of income for married borrowers who file separate federal income tax returns. Accordingly, this calculator will include the spouse's income only when the borrower files as married filing jointly.

Community property states generally attribute half of the earnings of a married couple to each spouse, so in those states, the AGI on the tax return of a married borrower who files a separate tax return will usually include half of the couple's combined earnings, plus any other separate income of the borrower. Therefore, depending on the spouse's earnings, the borrower's AGI on a separate return could be higher or lower than the borrower's own earnings.