Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans

What to know about IDR Plans

IDR plans may offer lower payments because they are based on your income and family size. Payments can be as low as $0 per month, depending on your circumstances.

The following plans are considered IDR

  • Pay As You Earn (PAYE)

  • Income-Based Repayment (IBR)

  • Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)

These repayment plans are unique

  • Eligibility - Based on income, family size, your loan balance(s), and the type(s) of federal student loans you have.

  • Annual Renewal - Even if your income or family size is the same, you are still required to recertify your IDR plan annually.

  • Annual Proof of Income - Income documentation must be provided with your annual recertification. If you don’t have income documentation to provide with your IDR application, you can request your tax transcript  this link will open in a new window at irs.gov.

  • Loan forgiveness opportunity - After you make 20-25 years of qualifying payments, your remaining loan balance(s) may be forgiven. These repayment plans also work for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. To view your monthly payments that count toward IDR forgiveness, visit StudentAid.gov  this link will open in a new window.

  • Interest subsidy - IBR and PAYE offer interest subsidies for some or all of your loans.

  • Paying Ahead – If your loan is paid ahead when you start or renew an IDR plan, the paid ahead status will be removed when your IDR plan is processed. This will be reflected in your disclosure statement. You can continue to pay the loan ahead, but only up through the anniversary date of the IDR plan, which is 12 months.

Interest Subsidies (Paid by the Government)

The government will pay the interest that is not satisfied by your calculated IDR monthly payment. The percent paid by the government depends on the payment plan, the loan type, and may depend on the length of time on the plan.

PAYE*

Subsidized loans

  • No interest benefit as of August 9, 2024.

IBR*

Subsidized loans

  • 100% for the first 3 consecutive years

* The 36-month period of up to 100% subsidy is not refreshed when switching between IDR plans.

Learn more about IDR Plans

The Department of Education has additional information about the repayment plans and the eligibility requirements for each.

Parent PLUS Loans do not qualify for IDR Plans. Borrowers with Parent PLUS loans may consolidate and request ICR.

If your consolidation loan was disbursed on or prior to 7/1/2006 and the consolidation loan includes Parent PLUS loans, your consolidation loan may not be eligible for IDR Plans. FAQs about IDR plans are also available.

Importance of Annual Renewal of IDR

When it is time to renew, you will be sent notification. A new IDR application to re-certify your income and family size and applicable income documentation will be required for renewal. Even if your information has not changed, you are still required to complete the annual renewal to retain a calculated IDR monthly payment amount based on income and/or family size. If the annual renewal is not received timely your monthly payment amount may substantially increase and unpaid interest may be capitalized (added to the principal balance of your loan(s)).

What will happen if I don't renew IDR by the annual deadline?

It's important for you to complete a new IDR application and provided applicable income documentation to re-certify your income and family size by the specified annual renewal deadline. If you don't renew by the deadline, the consequences vary depending on the plan.

  • Under the PAYE Plan, the IBR Plan, or the ICR Plan, if you don't renew by the annual deadline, you'll remain on the same IDR plan, however your monthly payment will no longer be based on your income which may substantially increase your monthly payment amount. Instead, your required monthly payment amount will be the amount you would pay under a Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period, based on the loan amount you owed when you initially entered the IDR plan. You may return to making payments based on income if you complete a new IDR application and provide the applicable income documentation.