College · College Success · Student loans

Four ways to repay,
one balance.

Type the balance, the rate and your income. The calculator lays the Standard plans, the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan and paying extra side by side: the payment, the years and what each repays in all.

Compare my plansWhat you get

The student loan repayment calculator

The worked example is a graduate with $32,000 at 6.5 percent starting a $48,000 job. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

College · College SuccessFree

What you finish with
Each plan’s first payment, time to pay off, total repaid and interest, the one that repays least, and what an extra payment each month saves. It prints as a one-page comparison to keep with your servicer login.
Who it is for
College seniors and recent graduates choosing a repayment plan before the first bill, and families helping them read the options.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The College Success space in Caveat College.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Type the balance and rate.
  2. Add income and dependents.
  3. Set an income growth rate.
  4. Try an extra payment.
  5. Compare the totals.

Compare my plans

How the plans are compared

Level payments, and one plan that follows income.

The worked example: the first year on the Repayment Assistance PlanIncome$48,000adjusted grossBand4%$40,000 to $50,000Less dependents−$0$50 each a monthRAP payment$160.00a month to startThe worked example: the first year on the Repayment Assistance PlanIncome$48,000adjusted grossBand4%$40,000 to $50,000Less dependents−$0$50 each a monthRAP payment$160.00a month to start
The Repayment Assistance Plan takes a percent of all income set by its $10,000 band, divides by 12 and takes $50 off for each dependent, with a $10 minimum. The Standard plans are level payments over a fixed term.

The plans after July 1, 2026

The 2025 reconciliation law gives Direct Loans made on or after July 1, 2026 two plans: a Standard plan with a fixed payment over 10 to 25 years, set by the balance (10 years under $25,000, 15 under $50,000, 20 under $100,000, 25 above), and the Repayment Assistance Plan. Borrowers with older loans keep the plans they have, including the 10-year Standard plan, and can move to the Repayment Assistance Plan, while the older income-driven plans are phased out.

How the Repayment Assistance Plan works

The payment is 1 percent of adjusted gross income between $10,000 and $20,000, 2 percent between $20,000 and $30,000, and so on up to 10 percent above $100,000, applied to all of the income, divided by 12, less $50 a month for each dependent, and never under $10. Interest the payment does not cover is not charged, and if the payment cuts the principal by less than $50 the government makes up the difference, up to the payment. After 360 payments any balance is forgiven. The page assumes income grows the same percent every year.

Sources

  1. Public Law 119-21 (2025), Title VIII, Subtitle A: the Repayment Assistance Plan and the tiered Standard plan for Direct Loans made on or after July 1, 2026 (congress.gov).
  2. Federal Student Aid. Repayment plans and the Loan Simulator (studentaid.gov/loan-simulator).
  3. Congressional Research Service (2025). Federal student loan provisions in the 2025 reconciliation law (crsreports.congress.gov).
  4. Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 431, Canceled debt: is it taxable or not (irs.gov/taxtopics/tc431).

An estimate under the rules as enacted. The Department of Education’s rules, your servicer and studentaid.gov’s Loan Simulator decide your real payment. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.