Enter your total balance, interest rate, income, family size, and employer type — the planner compares Standard, Graduated, Income-Driven, and PSLF plans and names the one that costs you least.
Six months after graduation a bill shows up for $705 a month and you start paying it, because that's the number they gave you. Nobody mentions that the same $62,000 balance could be $155 a month on an income-driven plan — or that for a nonprofit worker, the right plan could erase $60,000 of it entirely after ten years. Most borrowers are simply on whatever plan they got defaulted into, quietly overpaying or underpaying by five figures over the life of the loan. This planner runs your real balance, income, family size, and employer against every federal option at once and names the one that costs you the least.
This planner takes your Total Loan Balance, Interest Rate, Annual Gross Income, and Family Size, then runs all plans against your situation simultaneously. It shows monthly payment and total cost for each option, flags the Best Plan for lowest total cost, and checks PSLF eligibility based on your employer type. The result is a concrete recommendation, not a framework.
Standard versus Income-Driven: when each plan wins
Standard Repayment fixes your payment to clear the debt in 10 years. It carries the lowest total interest cost of any plan — you are on the shortest timeline so less interest accrues. For borrowers whose income comfortably covers the standard payment, this is usually the cheapest path. On $60,000 in debt at 6.5%, standard payments run approximately $680/month and total repayment is roughly $81,600.
Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) caps your monthly payment at a percentage of discretionary income — typically 5–20% depending on the plan variant. SAVE, PAYE, and IBR have different formulas, and the planner computes the relevant variant based on your income and family size. IDR payments on the same $60,000 balance at $48,000 gross income might run $180–$240/month, freeing cash flow — but extending the timeline to 20–25 years means significantly more total interest unless forgiveness applies.
PSLF eligibility: what it means if you qualify
Public Service Loan Forgiveness cancels remaining federal loan balances after 10 years (120 qualifying payments) of full-time employment at a qualifying government or nonprofit employer. The planner checks your Employer Type against PSLF eligibility requirements and, if you qualify, shows how much balance would be forgiven at the 10-year mark under an income-driven plan.
PSLF is one of the most consequential decisions in federal student loan management for borrowers with high balances and moderate incomes. A teacher with $85,000 in loans earning $44,000 per year could see $60,000–$70,000 forgiven tax-free at 10 years under PSLF with IDR payments. That is a fundamentally different financial outcome than any standard repayment path. The planner surfaces this check automatically when you enter your employer type.
Graduated repayment: who it actually works for
Graduated Repayment starts with lower payments that increase every two years, finishing the loan in 10 years. It costs more in total interest than Standard — payments are lower early when the balance is highest — but preserves cash flow in early career years. For borrowers who are confident their income will grow substantially, Graduated can make sense as a middle path between Standard and IDR.
The planner shows total cost for Graduated alongside Standard and IDR. In most cases, the difference between Standard and Graduated is $2,000–$8,000 in total interest over the 10-year term — worth modeling but not dramatic. The cases where Graduated wins are borrowers who need lower early payments to stay solvent during residency, fellowship, or an early career transition, and who expect income to grow enough that later higher payments are manageable.
Discretionary income and family size: why these inputs matter more than balance
IDR payment calculations are based on Discretionary Income — the portion of income above 100–150% of the federal poverty line for your family size. A single borrower earning $52,000 has higher discretionary income than a married borrower with two children earning the same amount, because the poverty line adjusts upward with family size. The planner uses your Family Size input to compute the correct baseline.
A family of 4 earning $65,000 has dramatically lower discretionary income than a single borrower earning $65,000 — potentially cutting the IDR payment in half. This is not a loophole; it is how the income-driven formulas are designed to account for household needs. Enter your actual family size and the planner will show you the correct payment, not a generic approximation.
Reading the Full Plan Comparison table without picking the wrong winner
The Full Plan Comparison table shows monthly payment, total cost, years to payoff, and amount forgiven (where applicable) for every plan side by side. The Best Plan row is flagged based on lowest total out-of-pocket cost. But the best plan by total cost is not always the right plan for your cash flow — if Standard is cheapest but the payment would require cutting your emergency fund below one month of expenses, the IDR plan that frees up $400/month has real value that the total-cost number does not capture.
The planner's Quick Compare section shows monthly payment differences at a glance. If IDR saves you $300/month versus Standard, consider whether that $300 invested over 10 years at a reasonable return outweighs the additional interest cost. For high-income-trajectory borrowers, Standard wins on total cost. For PSLF-eligible borrowers, maximizing forgiveness is usually the dominant strategy regardless of IDR total interest. Run your balance through all four plans now — the plan comparison takes 60 seconds and the cost difference between a wrong choice and the right one is often five figures.
How to use it
- Enter Total Loan Balance and Interest Rate (%) — find these on studentaid.gov under your loan details.
- Enter Annual Gross Income and Family Size — the IDR payment calculation depends on both.
- Select Employer Type to trigger the PSLF eligibility check: government, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, or for-profit.
- Read the Quick Compare panel for monthly payment and total cost per plan, with the Best Plan highlighted.
- Check the Full Plan Comparison table for side-by-side details and the PSLF Eligibility section for forgiveness estimates if applicable.
Who it's for
- New social worker with $58,000 in debt at a nonprofit — Earning $42,000 at a 501(c)(3), the PSLF check comes back eligible. IDR payments of approximately $160/month over 10 years with $41,000 forgiven tax-free at year 10. Total out-of-pocket cost: $19,200. Standard plan at $650/month would cost $78,000. PSLF wins by $58,800.
- Tech professional with high balance and fast income growth — $95,000 in loans, $78,000 starting salary expected to grow to $130,000 within 5 years. Standard Repayment wins — IDR payments would rise rapidly with income and provide no forgiveness since income is too high to benefit from 20-year forgiveness. Total Standard cost: $128,400. IDR at current income for 20 years: $148,000 after interest accumulation.
- Teacher in a low-income school district — $72,000 in loans, $38,000 salary, family of 3. PSLF-eligible employer. IDR monthly payment: $84. Projected forgiveness at 10 years: $63,000. Planner confirms PSLF is the clear optimal path and notes the exact monthly payment to certify under the correct IDR variant.
- Married couple with combined loans deciding on a strategy — Each borrower runs the planner separately with individual income but entering the combined family size of 2. Results show the higher-earning spouse benefits from Standard while the lower-earning spouse benefits from IDR with a longer timeline — and PSLF eligibility differs by employer type.
Key terms
- Discretionary income
- For federal student loan purposes, the difference between your adjusted gross income and 100–150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size. IDR payments are calculated as a percentage of this amount.
- PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness)
- A federal program that cancels remaining federal loan balances after 10 years of qualifying payments while working full-time at a government or qualifying nonprofit employer.
- Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)
- A category of federal repayment plans that cap monthly payments at a percentage of discretionary income. Includes SAVE, PAYE, IBR, and ICR plans. Remaining balance is forgiven after 20–25 years.
- Standard Repayment
- The default federal repayment plan with fixed monthly payments over 10 years. Carries the lowest total interest cost of all plans but the highest monthly payment.
- Weighted average interest rate
- The single interest rate that represents the blended cost across multiple loans with different balances and rates. Calculated by weighting each loan's rate by its share of total balance.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my weighted average interest rate if I have multiple loans?
Multiply each loan balance by its interest rate, sum those products, and divide by the total balance. Studentaid.gov now shows a weighted average rate for your federal loan portfolio. Enter that single figure rather than trying to model each loan separately.
Does the planner account for SAVE, PAYE, and IBR differences?
The planner uses an Income-Driven umbrella calculation based on your income and family size. The SAVE plan generally produces the lowest IDR payments for most borrowers under current rules. For precise plan-variant comparisons accounting for PAYE new-borrower restrictions or IBR legacy terms, use the loan simulator at studentaid.gov alongside this planner.
What if I have a mix of federal and private loans?
Enter only your federal loan balance — IDR and PSLF apply only to federal student loans. Private loans are not eligible for federal repayment plans and should be handled separately with your private lender. If you have both, model your federal balance here and contact your private servicer for refinancing options.
Does IDR forgiveness count as taxable income?
PSLF forgiveness is explicitly tax-free under federal law. IDR forgiveness after 20–25 years is also currently tax-free through at least 2025 under COVID-era provisions, but this exclusion was enacted through legislation and is not permanent. PSLF forgiveness carries no such uncertainty — it is written into the original statute.
How accurate is the Best Plan recommendation?
Highly accurate for the total-cost comparison based on your inputs. The recommendation does not factor in your cash flow constraints, risk tolerance, or plans to refinance — all of which may change the right answer. Use it as a starting point for a conversation with a student loan advisor or certified financial planner if your balance is above $60,000 and the plan choice is materially significant.