Student loan RAP payment calculator

Your monthly payment under the federal Repayment Assistance Plan, calculated from the official tier table in 34 CFR 685.209 — plus the plan-choice traps that cost far more than the payment itself.

Built and reviewed by Kulasekar Mittapalli, licensed Mortgage Loan Officer · Last reviewed September 2, 2026 · How these numbers are calculated

This is a payment calculator, not a lifetime-cost projector. The monthly payment math below is validated against the regulation and against every published official example. We have deliberately not published a 30-year total, because interest capitalisation rules and the 2026 poverty guidelines needed for an accurate IBR comparison are still being verified. We would rather show you nothing than show you a number we cannot stand behind on a decision this consequential.

Adjusted gross income (AGI)

Dependents claimed on your tax return

Tax filing status

Current repayment plan

RAP monthly payment

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Income tier

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Annual base payment

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Paid over 30 years

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How the RAP payment is actually calculated

RAP works differently from every income-driven plan that came before it. The percentage applies to your entire adjusted gross income, with no poverty-line deduction. Older plans such as IBR apply their percentage only to the portion of your income above 150% of the federal poverty guideline. That single difference is why RAP can produce a larger payment than IBR despite advertising a lower percentage.

(annual base payment ÷ 12) − $50 per dependent

34 CFR 685.209(f)(5)minimum $10/month

The tier table

Each band's upper bound is inclusive. An AGI of exactly $100,000 falls in the 9% tier, not the 10% tier.

Adjusted gross income	Annual base payment
Not more than $10,000	$120
$10,001 – $20,000	1% of AGI
$20,001 – $30,000	2% of AGI
$30,001 – $40,000	3% of AGI
$40,001 – $50,000	4% of AGI
$50,001 – $60,000	5% of AGI
$60,001 – $70,000	6% of AGI
$70,001 – $80,000	7% of AGI
$80,001 – $90,000	8% of AGI
$90,001 – $100,000	9% of AGI
More than $100,000	10% of AGI

The cliff nobody mentions

Because the higher percentage applies to your whole income rather than just the amount above the threshold, crossing a tier boundary by a single dollar is expensive. At $100,000 of AGI the payment is $750 a month. At $100,001 it is $833.34 — one extra dollar of income costs $1,000 a year.

Every $10,000 boundary carries a smaller version of the same jump. If your income lands just above one of these lines, a pre-tax contribution to a 401(k), traditional IRA, or HSA that lowers your AGI back below it can be worth several hundred dollars a year. The calculator flags this automatically when your figures land in the danger zone.

What this decision forecloses

For most borrowers the monthly payment is not the expensive part of this choice. Three rules do more damage than any difference in payment size, and none of them are reversible.

Before you choose

Time in RAP does not count toward IBR forgiveness. Payments under every income-driven plan except RAP earn credit toward IBR, PAYE, and ICR. The reverse is not true — IBR and Tiered Standard payments do count toward RAP's 360. Moving from IBR to RAP preserves your progress. Moving from RAP back to IBR does not.
Some SAVE borrowers cannot choose IBR at all. If you have made 60 or more qualifying repayments under SAVE or REPAYE on or after 1 July 2024, you are barred from enrolling in IBR entirely.
Consolidating after 1 July 2026 permanently removes access to the legacy plans. A new consolidation loan is a new loan, and PAYE, IBR, and ICR are closed to loans made on or after that date.

Two traps in the fine print

Paying extra can cancel your benefits. RAP waives unpaid accrued interest and adds a matching principal payment, but both require an on-time payment for a month that has a due date. Paying more than the amount due automatically advances your next due date, and no waiver or match is available for the months you have skipped past. If you want to pay extra and keep the subsidy, you must contact your servicer and opt out of advancing the due date.

The matching principal payment is capped by your payment. It is the lesser of $50 or the payment you actually made, minus whatever already went to principal. A borrower paying the $10 minimum receives at most $10 of matching principal — not $50, despite how the benefit is usually described.

Forgiveness is taxable again

The American Rescue Plan Act provision that shielded forgiven student loan balances from federal income tax applied through tax year 2025. It expired on 31 December 2025 and was not extended, so income-driven forgiveness granted in 2026 or later is treated as ordinary income in the year of discharge. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is unaffected — it remains tax-free under a separate, permanent exclusion in IRC section 108(f)(1). You may see claims that PSLF is now taxable; those are wrong.

Confirm before you choose. This calculator implements the regulation as written, but your servicer's figure may differ based on the income record on file, your verified dependent count, which of your loans are eligible, and rounding. Run your own numbers on the official Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator before making an election. We carry no affiliate or refinancing links on this page — refinancing federal loans into private debt permanently forfeits the protections discussed above, and we would rather not have a financial interest in that decision.

Sources

Payment formula, tier table, dependent definition, floor, spousal allocation, qualifying payments, interest waiver, and matching principal: 34 CFR 685.209, as amended at 91 FR 23887 (1 May 2026). Plan availability and the July 2026 transition: P.L. 119-21. Tax treatment: IRC sections 108(a)(1)(B), 108(f)(1), and 108(f)(5) as amended by P.L. 119-21 section 70119.

Formula verified against the regulation on 4 August 2026. Reviewed whenever the underlying regulation is amended.

Frequently asked questions

Is RAP based on discretionary income like other IDR plans?

No. RAP applies its percentage to your full adjusted gross income, with no poverty-line deduction. Existing plans such as IBR apply their percentage only to the portion of income above 150% of the federal poverty guideline. This is why RAP can produce a higher payment than IBR even though its headline percentage is lower.

Can my RAP payment be $0?

No. The minimum monthly payment under RAP is $10, though the final payment may be less. This differs from IBR and PAYE, where a calculated payment below $5 becomes $0. If you currently have a $0 payment under SAVE, moving to RAP means your payment will be at least $10.

Who counts as a dependent for the $50 reduction?

Anyone who qualifies as a dependent under section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code and was claimed on your federal tax return. That includes qualifying relatives such as a supported parent, not only children. If you filed married separately, only dependents claimed on your own return count.

Does time spent in RAP count toward IBR forgiveness?

No. Payments under every income-driven plan except RAP earn credit toward IBR, PAYE, and ICR forgiveness. The reverse is not true: payments made under the Tiered Standard plan, IBR, and pre-2028 income-contingent plans do count toward RAP's 360 payments. Moving from IBR to RAP preserves your progress; moving from RAP back to IBR forfeits it.

Can paying extra hurt me under RAP?

It can. Paying more than the amount due automatically advances your next due date, and no interest waiver or matching principal payment is available for months without a due date. To keep those benefits while paying extra, you must contact your servicer and opt out of advancing the due date.

Is forgiveness under RAP taxable?

Under current law, yes. The American Rescue Plan Act provision that excluded student loan forgiveness from federal taxable income expired on 31 December 2025 and was not extended. Public Service Loan Forgiveness remains tax-free under a separate permanent exclusion in IRC section 108(f)(1).