Student Loan Repayment Plans

Having trouble managing your federal student loans? The U.S. Department of Education has options that might help.

The U.S. Department of Education offers repayment plans that help you pay what you can afford for your federal student loans. They’re called “income-driven repayment plans” because they base your monthly payments on your income.

More than 2.5 million Direct Loan borrowers have already taken advantage of these plans, and you can too.

Under these plans, your initial payment can be as low as $0 per month and you might qualify to have your remaining loan balance forgiven after a set amount of time of making payments.

Find out whether you can lower your payment with a repayment option available from the U.S. Department of Education.

Want to compare all of the federal student loan repayment plans side-by-side? Calculate your estimated monthly payments under each plan by visiting the U.S. Department of Education’s Repayment Estimator tool.

If you log in to the Repayment Estimator and provide information about your income, you’ll see an estimate of the payments available to you under each repayment plan based on your student loans. The Repayment Estimator will help you compare the benefits and costs of each plan and make an informed decision about which plan is best for you.

Even if you don’t log in, you can still utilize the Repayment Estimator by entering information about your federal student loans yourself.

Take action to enroll in a plan to lower your payment and take financial control of your federal student loans.

You can apply for an income-driven repayment plan using the simple, fast online application available from the U.S. Department Education.

If you follow the link above to visit the Repayment Estimator, scroll down to the Next Steps section, and click on Apply for income-driven repayment plans.

If you’re ready, apply now for an income-driven repayment plan.

Want to know more about income-driven repayment plans?

Visit the U.S. Department of Education’s web page about income-driven repayment plans at StudentAid.gov/IDR.