Debt Payoff Calculators
Student Loan Payoff Calculator
The entire federal repayment system changed on July 1, 2026 — SAVE is gone, and two new plans replaced it. If a calculator still mentions SAVE, it's out of date.
Calculate your fixed payoff
Standard and Tiered Standard plans — a fixed payment schedule, not income-based.
Existing borrowers can use the standard 10-year plan, or Graduated/Extended plans for balances over $30,000.
The Tiered Standard Plan (new borrowers) sets term length by total balance — roughly 10 years under $25k, up to 25 years for balances above $100k. Confirm your exact tier at studentaid.gov, since exact thresholds are still being finalized in early implementation.
What actually happened to SAVE
The SAVE plan (Saving on a Valuable Education) was created in 2023 as the most generous income-driven repayment option available. It was blocked by litigation starting in 2024, with enrolled borrowers placed into interest-accruing forbearance, and a federal court in the Eastern District of Missouri formally vacated the plan on March 10, 2026. It's no longer available in any form. If you were on SAVE, you were required to select a new plan.
The two plans that replaced it
| Plan | Type | Key feature |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) | Income-driven | Payment set at 1%–10% of income on a sliding scale, no partial-hardship requirement |
| Tiered Standard Plan | Fixed | Term (10-25 years) set by total balance, not income — no forgiveness timeline |
For a first federal loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, RAP and the Tiered Standard Plan are the only two repayment options available — the old menu (Standard, Graduated, Extended, PAYE, ICR, IBR) simply isn't offered to brand-new borrowers anymore.
If you already have loans: what you keep, and until when
- Existing Standard, Graduated, and Extended plans remain available if all your loans were disbursed before July 1, 2026.
- PAYE and ICR stop accepting new enrollees July 1, 2026, and sunset completely by July 1, 2028 — anyone still on them by then must switch to IBR or RAP.
- IBR (Income-Based Repayment) is the one legacy income-driven plan the OBBBA keeps permanently, and it got easier to access — the partial financial hardship requirement was removed, so any borrower with eligible loans can now enroll.
The change that could cost you thousands and is easy to miss
PSLF is unaffected by any of this
Public Service Loan Forgiveness — remaining balance forgiven, tax-free, after 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full-time for a qualifying government or nonprofit employer — continues to operate under its own separate rules and wasn't changed by the OBBBA overhaul. If you're pursuing PSLF, enrolling in an income-driven plan (RAP or IBR going forward) generally produces qualifying payments, while the new Tiered Standard Plan does not count toward PSLF since it isn't income-driven.
Parent PLUS loans need action before the deadline
Parent PLUS loans aren't eligible for RAP. The only income-driven option for Parent PLUS is Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) — and only after consolidating the loan. If you want any income-driven option going forward, that consolidation needs to happen before July 1, 2026, or the loan defaults to a non-income-driven repayment structure.
The SAVE plan's vacatur (March 10, 2026), the July 1, 2026 launch of RAP and the Tiered Standard Plan, IBR's permanent status, and the expiration of tax-free IDR forgiveness (December 31, 2025) all verified across multiple independent 2026 sources, including higher-education financial aid offices and legal analysis. This is an extremely fast-moving area — confirm your specific situation at studentaid.gov, since implementation details are still being finalized as of this writing.
Frequently asked questions
Before you choose a student loan repayment plan.
Is the SAVE plan still available?
No. A federal court vacated the SAVE plan on March 10, 2026, and it's no longer an option in any form. Borrowers who were enrolled had to select a different repayment plan.
What replaced SAVE?
Two new plans launched July 1, 2026: the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), an income-driven option with payments set at 1-10% of income, and the Tiered Standard Plan, a fixed-payment plan with a term based on your total balance.
Is forgiven student loan debt taxable in 2026?
Yes, for most income-driven repayment forgiveness — the temporary tax exemption expired December 31, 2025. Forgiven balances under RAP, IBR, or legacy IDR plans are now added to your taxable income. PSLF forgiveness remains tax-free under separate rules.
Can I still use PAYE or Income-Contingent Repayment?
If you already have loans from before July 1, 2026, you can stay on PAYE or ICR until July 1, 2028, when both plans sunset completely and remaining enrollees must switch to IBR or RAP.
Does Public Service Loan Forgiveness still work the same way?
Yes — PSLF wasn't changed by the 2026 overhaul. It still forgives your remaining balance tax-free after 120 qualifying payments in public service employment, separate from the income-driven repayment changes.