Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): Payments, Who Qualifies, How to Switch
How the Repayment Assistance Plan works: the full AGI payment table, worked examples, the interest waiver and $50 principal match, who qualifies, what SAVE borrowers must do, and how to switch.
The short version
The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), in effect since July 1, 2026, sets your student loan payment at 1% to 10% of AGI divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, with a $10 minimum. On-time payments get an interest waiver and up to $50 a month toward principal; forgiveness comes after 360 payments.
The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is the federal student loan repayment plan that started July 1, 2026, for students and graduates with Direct Loans. Your monthly payment is 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income (AGI), minus $50 for each dependent, and never less than $10.
RAP also waives unpaid interest and adds up to $50 a month toward principal when you pay on time. This guide shows the full payment table, worked examples, who qualifies, what changed for SAVE borrowers, and how to switch.
Key Takeaways
- RAP payments run from 1% of AGI (income just over $10,000) to 10% (over $100,000), divided by 12, minus $50 per dependent, with a $10 minimum.
- The percent applies to your whole AGI, so crossing a bracket line raises your payment by $16.67 to $83.33 a month ($41.67 at $50,000).
- Unpaid interest is waived and principal drops by at least $50 (or your payment, if smaller) each month you pay on time.
- Forgiveness comes after 360 qualifying payments over at least 30 years, and RAP counts for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
- Parent PLUS loans cannot use RAP, and months on RAP do not count toward IBR, PAYE or ICR forgiveness.
What is the Repayment Assistance Plan?
The Repayment Assistance Plan is an income-driven repayment plan for federal Direct Loans, created by Public Law 119-21 and in effect since July 1, 2026. The Education Department’s final rule of May 1, 2026 sets the details.
The law is the one widely called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act; the Education Department now calls it the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. Same law, two names.
RAP replaces the income-driven plans that are closing. A court ended the SAVE Plan in March 2026, and PAYE and ICR close to borrowers by July 1, 2028. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) stays open for loans made before July 1, 2026.
How the Repayment Assistance Plan payment is calculated
Your yearly “base payment” is a percent of your AGI from the bracket table below. Divide it by 12, subtract $50 for each dependent you claim on your tax return, and that is your monthly payment, with a floor of $10, per 34 CFR 685.209.
| Adjusted gross income (AGI) | Base payment per year | Monthly payment, no dependents |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $120 | $10 |
| Over $10,000 to $20,000 | 1% of AGI | $10 to $16.67 |
| Over $20,000 to $30,000 | 2% of AGI | $33.33 to $50 |
| Over $30,000 to $40,000 | 3% of AGI | $75 to $100 |
| Over $40,000 to $50,000 | 4% of AGI | $133.33 to $166.67 |
| Over $50,000 to $60,000 | 5% of AGI | $208.33 to $250 |
| Over $60,000 to $70,000 | 6% of AGI | $300 to $350 |
| Over $70,000 to $80,000 | 7% of AGI | $408.33 to $466.67 |
| Over $80,000 to $90,000 | 8% of AGI | $533.33 to $600 |
| Over $90,000 to $100,000 | 9% of AGI | $675 to $750 |
| Over $100,000 | 10% of AGI | $833.33 and up |
Monthly amounts are our math from the regulation’s percentages (AGI times the percent, divided by 12, starting one cent over each bracket line). In the 1% row the $10 minimum applies up to $12,000. Edfinancial, a federal loan servicer, publishes the same bracket table on its RAP page.
RAP uses dependents, not family size. A dependent is someone you claimed on your federal tax return. If you are married and file separately, only the dependents on your own return count.
The bracket cliff: why $1 more income can cost $41.67 a month
RAP is not a marginal system like income tax. The percent for your bracket applies to all of your AGI, not just the part above the line. A commenter asked for a marginal design like income tax brackets; the Education Department said the law does not allow one.
At an AGI of $50,000 you are in the 4% bracket: $50,000 times 4% is $2,000 a year, or $166.67 a month. At $50,001 you are in the 5% bracket: $2,500.05 a year, or $208.34 a month. One more dollar of income raises the payment by $41.67 a month.
Repayment Assistance Plan payment examples
These six examples use only the formula in the final rule. Your servicer’s number can differ slightly if your AGI, dependents or loan balances differ from the inputs shown.
| Borrower | Math | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| Single, AGI $45,000, no dependents | $45,000 x 4% = $1,800 / 12 | $150 |
| AGI $60,000, two dependents | $60,000 x 5% = $3,000 / 12 = $250, minus $100 | $150 |
| AGI $9,000, one dependent | $120 / 12 = $10, minus $50 is below the floor | $10 |
| Married filing jointly, combined AGI $110,000, one dependent; borrower owes $30,000, spouse owes $20,000 | $110,000 x 10% / 12 = $916.67, minus $50 = $866.67, times 60% (borrower’s share of the couple’s loans) | $520 |
| AGI $50,001, no dependents | $50,001 x 5% / 12 | $208.34 |
| AGI $70,000, no dependents | $70,000 x 6% = $4,200 / 12 | $350 |
The first row matches the Education Department’s own example in its June 9, 2026 fact sheet: an unmarried borrower with no dependents who earns $45,000 pays $150 a month under RAP. On $35,000 of debt, the fact sheet adds, $40 of unpaid interest is waived each month and a $50 principal match is added.
RAP payments depend on income, not on how much you owe, as the same fact sheet stresses. So a $70,000 loan balance has no set RAP payment. A single borrower with an AGI of $70,000 and no dependents pays $350 a month, the top of the 6% bracket. At $70,001 the 7% bracket applies and the payment becomes $408.34.
Married couples who file jointly have their combined income counted, but the payment is then split by each spouse’s share of the couple’s eligible federal loans. If you file separately, only your own income and your own dependents count, per 685.209(e).
Interest waiver and the $50 principal match
Each month you pay on time, the Education Department does not charge you the interest your payment did not cover. It also adds a matching payment so your principal falls by at least $50, or by the amount you paid if that is less than $50.
Payments go to interest first. Say your payment is $150 and $180 of interest built up that month: all $150 goes to interest, the extra $30 is waived, and the government adds $50 to principal. If only $120 of interest built up, $30 of your payment goes to principal and the government adds $20 more.
Those interest amounts are illustrations, not averages. The rules behind them are in 685.209(h)(4) and 685.209(o).
Two things cancel the help. There is no principal match during a deferment or forbearance. And if you pay extra, your next due date moves forward, and months with no due date get no interest waiver or match unless you ask your servicer not to advance your due date.
“On time” has a precise meaning: the payment must arrive on or before this month’s due date and after last month’s due date. Paying early for next month does not count as this month’s on-time payment.
Forgiveness, PSLF and taxes
Under RAP, any balance left is forgiven after 360 qualifying monthly payments over at least 30 years. The Education Department tracks your count and forgives qualifying loans without an application, per the final rule.
RAP is a qualifying plan for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), so public service workers can still get forgiveness after 10 years of qualifying employment and payments, as Edfinancial notes.
Taxes are the catch for 30-year forgiveness. The temporary federal tax break that covered income-driven forgiveness applied to discharges from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2025, per StudentAid.gov.
For discharges after 2025, the student loan rule in 26 U.S.C. 108(f)(5) excludes only loans discharged because of death or total and permanent disability. So under current law, an amount forgiven later under RAP may count as federal taxable income.
The final rule change most guides miss
Months on RAP do not count toward forgiveness under IBR, PAYE or ICR. The proposed rule would have counted any income-driven payment; the final rule of May 1, 2026 changed the text to “an IDR plan except the Repayment Assistance Plan.”
The Education Department explained that the Higher Education Act does not list RAP as creditable toward IBR or income-contingent forgiveness. Credit flows one way: past IBR, PAYE and ICR payments count toward RAP’s 360, but RAP payments do not count toward IBR’s 20 or 25 years.
If you have years of IBR credit and are close to IBR forgiveness, think hard before switching to RAP. If you switch and later go back to IBR, your RAP months will not move you closer to IBR forgiveness. PSLF is not affected; RAP payments still count there.
The final rule made one more change. The proposed rule put the $10 minimum only in the rule for spouses who split a payment; the final rule applies it to every RAP payment, as the law requires.
Who can use the Repayment Assistance Plan
RAP is open to Direct Loan borrowers with Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans made to graduate or professional students, and Direct Consolidation Loans that did not repay a Parent PLUS loan. The final rule says defaulted loans of those types can also be repaid under RAP.
- Parent PLUS loans cannot use RAP, and neither can a consolidation loan that paid off a Parent PLUS loan. A new Parent PLUS loan made on or after July 1, 2026 must be repaid under the Tiered Standard plan.
- FFEL loans are not Direct Loans, so RAP is not available on them directly.
- New loans on or after July 1, 2026 have two choices: RAP or the Tiered Standard plan. If you do not choose, the Tiered Standard plan is the default.
- Loans made before July 1, 2026 can use RAP or IBR, and borrowers already on PAYE or ICR can stay until June 30, 2028, as long as they have not received a new Direct Loan on or after July 1, 2026. IBR no longer requires a partial financial hardship, but borrowers with 60 or more SAVE payments since July 1, 2024 cannot enroll in IBR.
If you are still in school or choosing aid for next year, our FAFSA 2027-28 guide and Pell Grant guide cover grant money that does not need to be repaid. Our education aid hub collects the rest.
Repayment Assistance Plan vs IBR
For loans made before July 1, 2026, the main choice is RAP or Income-Based Repayment. IBR charges 10% or 15% of discretionary income (income above 150% of the poverty guideline), capped at the 10-year standard payment. RAP charges 1% to 10% of your whole AGI with no poverty deduction.
| RAP | IBR | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment base | 1% to 10% of all AGI, minus $50 per dependent | 10% (new borrowers) or 15% of income above 150% of poverty |
| Payment cap | None | The 10-year standard payment |
| Lowest payment | $10 | Can be $0 |
| Unpaid interest | Waived each on-time month, plus up to $50 principal match | Standard IBR rules |
| Forgiveness | After 360 payments (30 years) | After 20 or 25 years |
| Open to loans made after June 30, 2026 | Yes | No |
Source: 34 CFR 685.209, final rule of May 1, 2026. Because IBR caps the payment and RAP does not, borrowers with high incomes compared with their debt can pay less on IBR.
At very low incomes IBR can be $0 while RAP is at least $10, but RAP’s interest waiver and principal match keep the balance from growing when payments are small.
If you are behind on payments, the rule also lets the Education Department place you in the income-driven plan with the lowest payment once you have missed a scheduled payment for at least 75 days or are in default, per 685.209(m).
That move has conditions. You must be eligible for the plan and have given consent to use your tax information. Your loans cannot be subject to a Treasury offset, administrative wage garnishment or a court judgment, and the new payment must be lower than or equal to your current one.
RAP vs the Tiered Standard plan
The Tiered Standard plan has fixed payments over 10 to 25 years, set by your total balance when you enter repayment, with a $50 minimum payment. RAP payments follow your income instead.
| Total Direct Loan balance | Repayment term |
|---|---|
| Under $25,000 | 10 years |
| $25,000 to under $50,000 | 15 years |
| $50,000 to under $100,000 | 20 years |
| $100,000 or more | 25 years |
If your income is low compared with your debt, RAP tends to cost less each month. If your income is high, the fixed Tiered Standard payment may be lower, and the loan is paid off on a set schedule. New-loan borrowers can switch between the two plans.
What SAVE borrowers need to do now
A federal court ended the SAVE Plan on March 10, 2026. Starting July 1, servicers began sending SAVE borrowers notices to pick a new plan within 90 days, per the Education Department. Your deadline is 90 days from your own notice.
If you do not choose, your servicer moves you to the Standard plan or the Tiered Standard plan, depending on when your loans were made. MOHELA, a federal loan servicer, says it sent its notices between July and September 2026. With 90 days to respond, many deadlines fall between October and December 2026.
Interest has been building on SAVE loans since August 1, 2025. When the SAVE forbearance ends, your payments include that interest. Comparing RAP and IBR now, before your deadline, lets you pick the plan rather than having one picked for you.
How to apply for or switch to RAP
- Estimate your payment. Edfinancial points borrowers to the Repayment Calculator on StudentAid.gov. You can also use the table and examples above.
- Apply online. Sign in at StudentAid.gov with your FSA ID and submit the income-driven repayment application, choosing the Repayment Assistance Plan.
- Give tax consent. Let the Education Department get your income and dependents from the IRS, or upload proof of income.
- Watch for your new amount. Your servicer sets your payment for 12 months. Ask for a new amount early if your income drops or your household changes.
- Recertify every year. If you miss it, your RAP payment becomes the 10-year standard amount based on what you owed when you entered repayment.
Never pay a company to sign you up for RAP. The application is free on StudentAid.gov, and your servicer helps you switch plans at no cost, per StudentAid.gov’s scam warning. Our scam watch page lists the student loan scams we track.
Is RAP right for you?
RAP can give low payments to borrowers with modest incomes and dependents, and its interest waiver stops balances from growing when you pay on time. Its weak points are the $10 minimum, the 30-year path to forgiveness, possible tax on that forgiveness, and the bracket cliffs.
If you have pre-2026 loans and a long IBR history, compare both plans before you switch, because RAP months do not count toward IBR forgiveness. If you work in public service, RAP keeps your PSLF progress going.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Take 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income, depending on your bracket ($120 a year if your AGI is $10,000 or less), divide by 12, and subtract $50 for each dependent you claim. The payment is never less than $10 a month.
Borrowers with Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans for graduate or professional students, and Direct Consolidation Loans that did not repay a Parent PLUS loan. Parent PLUS loans and FFEL loans cannot use RAP directly.
After 360 qualifying monthly payments over at least 30 years. RAP also counts toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The temporary federal tax break for income-driven forgiveness covered discharges through December 31, 2025, so 30-year RAP forgiveness may count as federal taxable income under current law.
No. The Education Department's final rule of May 1, 2026 says months under RAP do not count toward IBR, PAYE or ICR forgiveness. Payments under those plans do count toward RAP's 360.
A court ended SAVE on March 10, 2026. Your servicer sends a notice giving you 90 days to choose a new plan; if you do not choose, you are moved to the Standard or Tiered Standard plan.
No. RAP has a $10 minimum monthly payment, set by law, even if your income is $10,000 or less or your dependent deduction would bring the payment lower.
Yes. Edfinancial, a federal loan servicer, points borrowers to the Repayment Calculator on StudentAid.gov. You can also estimate it by hand: take your bracket percent of AGI, divide by 12, subtract $50 per dependent, and use $10 if the result is lower.
It often fits lower incomes and borrowers with dependents, because unpaid interest is waived and principal drops each on-time month. It is weaker for borrowers close to IBR forgiveness, since RAP months do not count toward IBR, and for anyone who may owe federal tax on 30-year forgiveness.
Sources & further reading
- 1U.S. Department of Education, final rule, 91 FR 23768, May 1, 2026 (Federal Register)
www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/01/2026-08556/reimagining-and-improving-student-education-federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations
- 2Final rule full text, 34 CFR 685.208 to 685.210 (GovInfo)
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-05-01/html/2026-08556.htm
- 3Edfinancial Services (federal loan servicer): Repayment Assistance Plan
edfinancial.studentaid.gov/income-driven-repaymentinformation-center/rap
- 4StudentAid.gov: IDR plan court actions, updated September 29, 2026
studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-court-actions
- 5U.S. Department of Education: next steps for SAVE borrowers, March 27, 2026
www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-next-steps-borrowers-enrolled-unlawful-save-plan
- 6MOHELA: End of the SAVE Plan FAQ
mohela.studentaid.gov/DL/resourceCenter/SAVEPlanFaq.aspx
- 7U.S. Department of Education: SAVE interest restart, July 9, 2025
www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-continues-improve-federal-student-loan-repayment-options-addresses-illegal-biden-administration-actions
- 8U.S. Department of Education: Fact Sheet, Simplifying Student Loan Repayment, June 9, 2026
www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/fact-sheet-trump-administration-simplifying-student-loan-repayment
- 926 U.S.C. 108(f), student loan discharges (Cornell Legal Information Institute)
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/108
Confirm current rules with the agency that runs the program before you apply.
How we checked this guide
Every rule, dollar amount, and deadline in this guide was checked against the sources above on .
- Sources9 primary, linked above
- PublishedOctober 9, 2026
- Last verifiedOctober 9, 2026
- IndependenceNot a government agency
Not legal, tax, or financial advice. GrantsHubUSA is an independent editorial site. We are not a government agency and we do not run these programs. See our full disclaimer.
More guides for your next step
