What this calculator covers. It models a loan with a fixed monthly payment, such as the Standard Plan, the Tiered Standard Plan or a fixed-rate private loan. It doesn't estimate income-driven plans such as RAP or IBR, because those payments depend on your income and family. For those, use the Repayment Calculator on StudentAid.gov.
How to use this student loan calculator
- Enter your balance. Your servicer's account page shows what you owe. You can enter all your loans as one total or run each one separately.
- Enter your interest rate. The default is the 2026-27 undergraduate rate. If your loans have different rates, use a weighted average or run them separately.
- Choose your term. The default is 10 years, the Standard Plan. If you have a loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, use your Tiered Standard term from the table below.
- Add any extra monthly payment. The result shows the interest you would save and how much sooner you would finish.
- Open "More options" if you need them. You can add months of unpaid interest from before repayment, and set your first payment date.
How your payment is worked out
Payment = Balance × m ÷ (1 − (1 + m)−n)Interest this month = Balance × m m is the monthly rate (yearly rate ÷ 12) and n is the number of monthly payments.
Each payment covers that month's interest first, and the rest reduces your balance. Federal loans accrue interest daily, so your servicer's figures can differ slightly from this monthly estimate. The Standard and Tiered Standard plans require at least $50 a month, so the calculator applies that minimum to small balances.
Worked example
You owe $30,000 at 6.52% over 10 years. Your payment is $340.95 a month for 120 months. You repay $40,914 in total, of which $10,914 is interest.
In the first year, $1,891 of your payments goes to interest and $2,200 to principal. By year 10, it is $141 of interest and $3,950 of principal, because the balance has fallen.
Paying $50 more a month clears the loan in 100 months, which is 1 year and 8 months sooner, and saves $1,992 in interest.
Federal student loan rates for 2026-27
These fixed rates apply to Direct Loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. The last two columns show $30,000 repaid over 10 years.
| Loan | Borrower | Fixed rate | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized | Undergraduate | 6.52% | $340.95 | $10,914 |
| Direct Unsubsidized | Graduate or professional | 8.07% | $365.09 | $13,811 |
| Direct PLUS | Parents, graduate or professional students | 9.07% | $381.16 | $15,740 |
Older loans keep the rate they started with. Most federal loans also carry a fee taken out of the money paid to you. For loans first disbursed from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2027, it is 1.057% on Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans and 4.228% on PLUS Loans. You repay the full amount borrowed, including the fee.
Repayment plans after July 1, 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, which the Department of Education also calls the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, rewrote federal repayment. Which plans you can use depends on when your loans were first disbursed.
- You have any loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026. You must repay all your eligible Direct Loans under the Tiered Standard Plan or the Repayment Assistance Plan. Parent PLUS Loans, and consolidation loans that include them, can use only the Tiered Standard Plan.
- All your loans were first disbursed before July 1, 2026, and you take no new ones. If you are eligible, you can use the Standard, Graduated and Extended plans, IBR, RAP, and ICR and PAYE while they last. You don't have access to the Tiered Standard Plan. A new loan, including a new consolidation loan, ends your access to IBR, ICR and PAYE.
Tiered Standard Plan
Your term depends on your total Direct Loans when you enter repayment. Payments are fixed and at least $50 a month. These examples use 6.52%:
| Total Direct Loans | Term | Example balance | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $25,000 | 10 years | $20,000 | $227.30 | $7,276 |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 15 years | $40,000 | $348.88 | $22,799 |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 20 years | $75,000 | $560.06 | $59,415 |
| $100,000 or more | 25 years | $100,000 | $676.46 | $102,937 |
A longer term costs more. A $30,000 balance gets 15 years on this plan, at $261.66 a month and $17,099 of interest. Paying $79.29 extra each month brings it back to 10 years and $10,914 of interest, the same as the example above.
Income-driven plans
- RAP opened on July 1, 2026. The payment is 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income divided by 12, minus $50 for each dependent, with a $10 minimum and no cap. A remaining balance may be discharged after 30 years. With on-time payments, unpaid interest is waived and your principal is reduced by up to $50 a month.
- IBR stays open to eligible borrowers with no new loan on or after July 1, 2026. The payment is 10% or 15% of discretionary income, never more than the 10-year Standard payment.
- PAYE and ICR will be eliminated no later than July 1, 2028. Borrowers in those plans will need to move to another plan.
- SAVE has ended. A court order on March 10, 2026, stopped it, and borrowers in the related forbearance must choose a new plan.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness still requires the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for an eligible employer.
What extra payments save
Using the $30,000 example at 6.52% over 10 years:
| Extra each month | Paid off in | Interest saved |
|---|---|---|
| $25 | 109 months | $1,099 |
| $50 | 100 months | $1,992 |
| $100 | 86 months | $3,359 |
| $200 | 67 months | $5,118 |
Federal rules let you prepay at any time without a penalty. Your servicer applies payments to fees and interest first. If an extra payment equals or exceeds your monthly payment, the servicer moves your next due date unless you ask it not to, so tell it how you want the money applied. With several debts, the debt payoff calculator can show which to pay first.
Auto pay is also worth checking. The reduction on eligible Direct Loans is 1 percentage point through June 30, 2028. On $30,000, that is about $25 less interest a month at first ($30,000 × 1% ÷ 12). The calculator doesn't model it because it is temporary, so enter your full rate for a conservative estimate.
Interest before repayment starts
Most Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans have a six-month grace period after you leave school. Interest on unsubsidized loans keeps adding up during that time. On $30,000 at 6.52%, six months comes to $978. Enter 6 under "Months of unpaid interest before repayment" and the calculator adds it to what you owe, so the payment becomes $352.06 and total interest $12,248.
That is a slight overestimate for many borrowers. The interest is still yours to pay, but StudentAid.gov doesn't list the end of the grace period as a time when interest capitalizes on Direct Loans managed by the Department of Education. Interest on some older FFEL loans may capitalize then.
Student loan interest deduction for 2026
You can deduct the interest you paid, up to $2,500 a year, even if you don't itemize. You must be legally obligated to pay the loan, and you can't claim the deduction if you are married filing separately or someone else claims you as a dependent. Lenders generally send Form 1098-E if you paid $600 or more in interest.
| Filing status | Full deduction up to | Phases out between | No deduction at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, head of household, qualifying surviving spouse | $85,000 | $85,000 to $100,000 | $100,000 or more |
| Married filing jointly | $175,000 | $175,000 to $205,000 | $205,000 or more |
The figures are 2026 modified adjusted gross income. The deduction lowers your taxable income, not your tax dollar for dollar. In the example, first-year interest is $1,891. A single filer below $85,000 could deduct all of it. At $92,500, halfway through the range, the deduction falls by half to $945.50.
How much income does this payment need?
A common rule of thumb says to keep student loan payments to about 10% of your income. At $340.95 a month, that suggests an income of about $40,914 a year. It is only a guide, not a federal or lender rule, and it says nothing about your other debts. The debt-to-income calculator gives a fuller picture, and the paycheck calculator shows what you take home. This page is for education, not financial or tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the monthly payment on a $30,000 student loan?
What are the federal student loan interest rates for 2026-27?
What happened to the SAVE plan?
What is the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)?
What is the Tiered Standard Plan?
Can I deduct student loan interest in 2026?
Does auto pay lower my student loan rate?
Sources and further reading
Independent, official guidance on this topic. Rules differ by country, so check the regulator where you live.
- Interest rates and fees for federal student loans · Federal Student Aid
- Federal student loan repayment plans · Federal Student Aid
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act updates · Federal Student Aid
- 34 CFR 685.208: fixed repayment plans · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
- Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education · Internal Revenue Service
This calculator gives estimates for education and planning. It is not financial advice, and your lender's figures may differ. See how we calculate.