US Student Loan Payment Calculator (IDR + Standard)
Calculate US federal student loan payments under Standard, Graduated, and Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plans.
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US Student Loan Repayment Guide
What's the difference between Standard and IDR Plans?
Standard Repayment: 10 years, fixed payment, lowest total interest. Best when income comfortably covers payment. Income-Driven Repayment (IDR): payment capped at 10-15% of discretionary income, forgiveness after 20-25 years (taxable forgiveness as of 2024). REPAYE/SAVE replaced by new SAVE rules — exact program subject to ongoing legal challenges in 2025. PAYE: 10% of discretionary income, 20-year forgiveness. IBR: 10-15% of discretionary income, 20-25 year forgiveness. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): forgives the remaining balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full-time for a qualifying government or non-profit employer.
What should I know about PSLF — Free Money for Public Sector?
Public Service Loan Forgiveness is the single best deal in US student loans. Requirements: 120 qualifying payments (10 years) on an IDR plan; employed full-time by qualifying employer (federal/state/local government, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, full-time military). Strategy: minimize payments on IDR (lower income years count); maximize forgiveness amount. A teacher earning $50,000 with $80,000 in loans on SAVE plan might pay $200-300/month for 10 years = $30,000 paid; remaining
When to Refinance to Private?
Refinancing federal loans to private is PERMANENT — you lose access to IDR, PSLF, forbearance, and federal forgiveness programs. Only refinance if: you're certain you won't need IDR or PSLF; you can secure a meaningfully lower rate (often 2%+ lower); high income comfortably handles payments. Best for: high-earning professionals (doctors after residency, engineers, lawyers in private practice) with high loan balances who won't pursue PSLF. SoFi, Earnest, Laurel Road, and Splash are among the major refinance lenders, though refinancing federal loans to private permanently forfeits access to federal protections like income-driven repayment and forgiveness programmes.
What's the difference between The 'Avalanche' and 'Snowball' Method?
If you have multiple loans: Avalanche = pay minimums on all loans, throw extra at HIGHEST interest rate loan first. Mathematically optimal. Snowball = pay minimums on all loans, throw extra at SMALLEST balance loan first. Psychologically motivating (quick wins). For $45,000 across 5 loans, avalanche typically saves $500-2,000 vs snowball over the payoff period. Avalanche wins financially; snowball wins for those needing motivation to stick with the plan. Whichever you choose, the key behaviour is consistency — sticking with a payoff plan matters more than which specific method is mathematically optimal.