RAP plan calculator
The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is a federal student loan plan. Your payment is 1% to 10% of what your tax return lists as adjusted gross income (AGI), and $50 comes off for each dependent: a child or anyone else you claim on your taxes.
- July 1, 2026That's when RAP opened
- 1% to 10% of AGI
- The monthly minimum is $10
- Each dependent lowers the monthly payment by $50
Sources: Federal Student Aid, RAP definitions and Federal Student Aid for repayment plans.
How does RAP affect your balance?
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Unpaid interest | Pay the full amount on time, and if that doesn't cover the month's interest, RAP picks up what's left. So what you owe doesn't grow. |
| Principal match | Principal is what you borrowed. If an on-time RAP payment cuts what you borrowed by under $50, the Department of Education pays the difference so it still drops by $50. |
| Forgiveness | RAP forgives what you still owe once you've made 360 monthly payments that count. That takes at least 30 years. |
| Married, filing jointly | RAP usually adds both your incomes together. If your spouse has federal loans too, your payment goes down. |
| Married, filing separately | RAP looks only at your income and the dependents listed on the return you file. |
| Parent PLUS | RAP isn't open to Parent PLUS loans, which a parent borrows for a child's schooling. It also isn't open to a consolidation loan (one loan that replaces several federal loans) if it was used to pay off Parent PLUS loans. |
| New loans | New Direct Loans paid out for the first time on or after July 1, 2026, to you or your school, have just two plans to pick from: RAP, or Tiered Standard (a fixed payment). |
Source information from Federal Student Aid, income-driven plans.
Does RAP cost you the least?
Not in every case. You can still choose Income-Based Repayment (IBR) if you borrowed before July 2026. IBR skips the first part of your income, so someone who earns less can pay less on it.
| RAP | IBR | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | 1% to 10% of your whole AGI | 10% or 15% of your income above 150% of the poverty line |
| Smallest payment | $10 a month | $0 |
| Highest payment | No limit | Capped at the 10-year Standard payment, the fixed amount that pays off your loan in 10 years |
| Forgiveness | After 360 payments (30 years) | After 20 or 25 years |
Your repayment plan is ending
SAVE, PAYE and ICR are three older income-based plans. Anyone still on one of them will have to pick a new plan.
Switching plans with your loan servicer
Apply once online through the income-driven repayment application at studentaid.gov. This is the form used by plans that base your payment on your income. On it, pick RAP.
Your servicer is the company that sends your loan bill. It makes the switch for you and then sends your new bill.
Once a year, your servicer will ask you for your income again. Send it in so your payment stays right.
How the calculation works
Show how it's worked out
Using the official RAP scale, we find your income range. When your AGI is $10,000 or less, the yearly starting amount is $120. Above that level, your payment is 1% of your whole AGI. For each extra $10,000, the rate rises one point, up to 10%. Each month, we subtract $50 for each person you claim as a dependent on your tax return from the yearly starting amount divided by 12. Each month, you pay no less than $10. You can check any income using the RAP payment table.
| Your AGI | Yearly starting amount |
|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $120 a year |
| Over $10,000, up to $20,000 | 1% of your AGI |
| Over $20,000, up to $30,000 | 2% of your AGI |
| Over $30,000, up to $40,000 | 3% of your AGI |
| Over $40,000, up to $50,000 | 4% of your AGI |
| Over $50,000, up to $60,000 | 5% of your AGI |
| Over $60,000, up to $70,000 | 6% of your AGI |
| Over $70,000, up to $80,000 | 7% of your AGI |
| Over $80,000, up to $90,000 | 8% of your AGI |
| Over $90,000, up to $100,000 | 9% of your AGI |
| Over $100,000 | 10% of your AGI |
Words and their meanings
- AGI
- Adjusted gross income means the total income on your tax return. You'll find it on line 11 of your federal tax return.
- Principal
- What you borrowed, before any interest is added.
- Servicer
- The company that bills you for your loan and handles plan changes.
- IBR
- Income-Based Repayment: a plan based on your income that older loans can still use.
- Poverty level
- A low-income level the government sets, based on how many people are in your household. For a single person in the 48 states and DC, the yearly amount is $15,960. IBR uses 150% of that amount, which is $23,940.
- The 10-year Standard payment
- A fixed monthly amount that pays your loan off in 10 years.
- The Tiered Standard plan
- A plan with a fixed payment, spread over 10 to 25 years based on what you owe.
- Direct Loans
- Federal student loans that the Department of Education made.
- A consolidation loan
- One loan that takes the place of several federal loans.
- Joint or separate filing
- Whether you and your spouse file one tax return together or each file your own.
- The SAVE, PAYE and ICR plans
- Older income-based plans that have ended or are closing.
- Payment that counts
- An on-time payment that counts toward loan forgiveness.
- Income-driven repayment
- This plan sets your monthly payment based on your income instead of your balance.