Student Loan Repayment

Five Minutes. Every Repayment Option

Enter your loan balances, your income, and what matters most to you and this calculator does the rest. It models standard repayment, extended plans, income-driven options (SAVE, PAYE, IBR, ICR), avalanche, snowball, and PSLF forgiveness, then highlights the strategy that best matches your goal.

Whether you want to pay the least overall, free up cash flow now, or pursue forgiveness, you'll leave with a clear recommendation.

Student Loan Repayment Optimizer

Compare every repayment strategy side by side — standard, income-driven, avalanche, snowball, and forgiveness paths — and find the one that saves the most money for your situation.

Your Loans

Add each loan separatelyEnter each loan with its own balance and rate for the most accurate comparison. The avalanche and snowball strategies depend on having multiple loans entered correctly.

Federal vs PrivateFederal loans qualify for income-driven repayment (IDR) and PSLF. Private loans do not. If you have both, only the federal portion will show IDR and forgiveness options.

Interest rateUse the actual rate on each loan, not an average. Federal loan rates range from 5.5% (undergrad) to 8.05% (grad PLUS). Private loan rates vary widely — check your statements.

Income & Situation

Annual gross incomeYour total pre-tax income. Used to calculate IDR payments. For married couples on joint filing, use household income. On separate filing, use only your income.

Family sizeAffects the poverty line used in IDR calculations. A larger family size means a higher poverty line, which means lower discretionary income and lower IDR payments.

Income growth rateExpected annual salary increase. Higher growth means IDR payments rise faster over time. Important for long-horizon forgiveness calculations.

Tax rateUsed to estimate the tax bill on forgiven balances under IDR forgiveness (20/25 year). PSLF forgiveness is tax-free and does not use this rate.

Annual gross income $65,000

Extra monthly payment $0

Family size

Expected income growth rate 3.0%

Federal tax rate (for forgiveness tax estimate) 22%

Your Goal

Minimize total paidPay as little as possible over the life of your loans. Usually means paying aggressively using the avalanche method to kill high-interest debt first.

Lowest monthly paymentFree up cash flow now. IDR plans typically give the lowest monthly payment, sometimes as low as $0 if income is low enough.

Fastest payoffGet out of debt as quickly as possible. Requires paying the most per month but minimizes the time you carry the debt.

Pursue forgivenessMaximize forgiveness under PSLF (tax-free after 10 years in public service) or IDR forgiveness (taxable after 20–25 years). Best if you have high debt relative to income.

What matters most to you?

Loan type (for IDR / PSLF eligibility)

Do you work in public service / non-profit?

Recommended strategy

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calculating...

Total loan balance

across all loans

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Blended interest rate

weighted average

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Standard payment

10-year fixed

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Recommended payment

based on your goal

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Interest saved

vs standard 10-year

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Payoff / forgiveness

months from now

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Strategy Comparison

Strategy	Monthly	Total paid	Total interest	Payoff

Income-Driven Plans

Loan balance over time by strategy

Standard 10-yr

Avalanche

IDR (SAVE)

Extended 25-yr

Disclaimer: IDR payment calculations use 2024 federal poverty guidelines. PSLF requires 120 qualifying payments while working full-time for an eligible employer — consult studentaid.gov for current eligibility rules. Tax estimates on forgiven balances are approximations. This calculator is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial or legal advice.

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