Federal Direct Loan Repayment Options
Federal Direct Loans (DL) have the most options for repayment. Below is a summary of these plans. You can see what your payment would be under each plan by using this calculator. The feds also have a calculator which you can find here.
Repayment Plan | Eligible Loan Types | How Payment is Determined |
Lowest Payment Allowed | Maximum Term | Loan Forgiveness At End of Term |
Count for Public Service Loan Forgiveness |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Plan |
|
Same payment every month based on the balance of the loan when you enter repayment | $50 | 10 years except for Consolidation loans which may have terms as long as 30 years | No | Yes, provided the term is no longer than 10 years |
Graduated Repayment |
|
Payments generally start as interest only for two years, then gradually increase every two years after that | $30 | 10 years except for Consolidation loans which may have terms as long as 30 years | No | No, unless payment is at least as much as that of a ten year plan |
Extended Repayment and Extended Graduated Repayment | You must have more than $30K in total DL
You must have no loans made earlier than 10/7/1998 to qualify |
Extended repayment has the same payment for the full term of the loan
Extended graduated repayment starts as interest only and gradually increases every two years |
$50 | 25 Years | No | No, unless payment is at least as much as that of a ten year plan |
Consolidation Loan Standard Plan | Direct Consolidation Loans | Same payment every month based on the balance of the loan when you enter repayment | $50 | Between 10-30 years depending on your balance | No | No, unless payment is at least as much as that of a ten year plan |
Income-Contingent Repayment |
|
The lesser of:
|
$0 | 25 years | Yes | Yes
Note this is the only income-driven repayment plan available for Parent PLUS loans. You must consolidate the Parent PLUS loans to gain access to ICR |
Income-Based Repayment |
|
15% of discretionary income
Must reapply annually |
$0 | 25 years | Yes | Yes |
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) |
To qualify you must have no loans before October 1, 2007 and at least one disbursement made on or after October 1, 2011 |
10% of discretionary income
Must reapply annually |
$0 | 20 years | Yes | Yes |
“New” Income-Based Repayment |
To qualify you must have no loans before July 1, 2014 |
10% of discretionary income
Must reapply annually |
$0 | 20 years | Yes | Yes |
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) |
|
10% of discretionary income
Must reapply annually |
$0 | 20 Years if you only have undergraduate loans
25 Years if you have both undergraduate and graduate loans |
Yes | Yes |