Make Payments Based in Part on Your Income
Income-driven repayment plans allow you to adjust your payments based on factors such as your income, family size and the poverty level in your area.
Under the federal student loan program, there are several possible options for repaying your student loan(s) based on your income:
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE): for Direct Loan borrowers
- Income-Based Repayment (IBR): for FFEL and Direct Loan borrowers
- Income-Sensitive Repayment (ISR): for FFEL borrowers
- Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): for Direct Loan borrowers
Contact your loan servicer(s) to determine which repayment options are available to you. If you need assistance, call us and we'll help you get started.
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
With PAYE, your payment amounts are based on income and family size, with a maximum payment amount equal to 10% of your discretionary income.
You must have a partial financial hardship to initially qualify for PAYE—but this is not a requirement to remain in the plan. Income and family size are reviewed annually and payment amounts may increase or decrease. Note: you must reapply for PAYE annually.
Any remaining federal student loan debt is forgiven after 20 years of qualifying payments, or after 10 years under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Pay As You Earn Repayment Calculator
Follow the link below to the U.S. Department of Education's Pay As You Earn repayment calculator to see if you are eligible and estimate initial payments.
Pay As You Earn repayment calculator
Get in-depth information on federal student aid programs, applying for financial aid, and repaying student loans at StudentAid.gov the Federal Student Aid (FSA) website.
Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
IBR is a repayment plan designed to make payments more affordable and may be a good option if you have a FFELP loan(s) or do not qualify for PAYE. Monthly payment amounts are based on income and family size, with a maximum payment amount equal to 15% of your discretionary income.
You must have a partial financial hardship to initially qualify for IBR. Income and family size are reviewed annually to determine if your payment amount should be adjusted. Note: you must reapply for IBR annually.
Any remaining federal student loan debt is forgiven after 25 years of qualifying payments, or after 10 years under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Income-Based Repayment Calculator
Follow the link below to the U.S. Department of Education's Income-Based Repayment calculator to see if you are eligible and estimate initial payments.
Income-Based Repayment calculator
Get in-depth information on federal student aid programs, applying for financial aid, and repaying student loans at StudentAid.ed.gov.
Income-Sensitive Repayment (ISR)
This program may be a good option if you have a loan(s) under the FFELP and want to lower your payments for a brief period of time. With an ISR plan, your loan servicer(s) determines your monthly payment based on your gross income and will adjust your payments annually based on your reported earnings. Note: you must reapply for ISR annually.
ISR can help you stay current with your payments if you expect to earn less in the coming months; but if you think you'll need lower payments for more than a year, you may want to consider another repayment plan.
ISR payments do not qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
This plan is available if you have a loan(s) under the Direct Loan Program and want to lower your payments.
With ICR, monthly payments are calculated based on income, family size and the total amount borrowed. Note: you must reapply for ICR annually. Any remaining federal student loan debt is forgiven after 25 years of qualifying payments.