Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE)
The Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) plan was recently created to further ease the burden of student loan debt. REPAYE became available to Direct Loan borrowers on December 17, 2015 and offers several benefits including: a potentially lower monthly payment, no disbursement date restrictions, loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, and interest subsidies to prevent ballooning loan balances.
Eligibility
REPAYE is available for Direct Loan borrowers only, and eligible loan types include: Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized, Direct Grad PLUS, and Direct Consolidation loans. Direct Parent PLUS loans, defaulted loans and consolidation loans that repaid a Parent PLUS loan cannot be repaid under the REPAYE plan.
NOTE: FFELP and Private loans (account number begins with "C") are not eligible for the REPAYE plan.
Monthly Payment Calculation
Your monthly payments will be based on your eligible federal student loan debt, family size, and your and your spouse's income (if applicable). Your monthly payment amount will be capped at 10% of your and your spouse's (if applicable) discretionary income. Your discretionary income is the difference between your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and 150% of the poverty line amount for your family size and state. The payment amount is valid for 12 months and you will be required to reapply each year by submitting a new Income-Driven Repayment Plan Request form that will provide us with your updated income and family size information if you wish to continue on the REPAYE plan. Your payment amount may change as your income or family size changes.
NOTE: If you are married, regardless of your tax filing status with your spouse, your spouse's income will be included in your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). If your spouse has eligible student loans, his or her loan debt may also be considered when calculating your monthly payment on REPAYE. If you believe that your AGI, as reported on your most recently filed federal income tax return, does not reasonably reflect your current income and your spouse's current income (if applicable), you may provide alternative documentation of income and provide proof of your current income (as instructed in Section 5 of the Income-Driven Repayment Request form).
Loan Forgiveness
Under REPAYE, your remaining balance will be forgiven after 20 or 25 years (you may qualify for forgiveness after 20 years if the loans being repaid under the REPAYE plan include only loans you received to pay for undergraduate study, whereas you may qualify for forgiveness after 25 years if the loans being repaid under the REPAYE plan include a loan you received to pay for graduate or professional study).
You may be eligible for loan forgiveness after 10 years if you are seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Interest Subsidy
If you have subsidized loans and your monthly payment amount under REPAYE is not sufficient to pay the amount of interest that accrues on a monthly basis, the federal government will subsidize 100% of the remaining interest that is due for the first three consecutive years. After the three-year period is over, the interest that's not covered by your monthly payment will be subsidized at 50% instead of 100%.
Also, if you have unsubsidized loans, the remaining interest due will be subsidized at 50% for any period(s) of time that your REPAYE monthly payment due is not sufficient to pay the monthly interest.
Payment Estimate
Interested in what your payment amount would be on REPAYE? Use the Repayment Estimator on Federal Student Aid's website. In addition to providing you with your estimated monthly payment amount on REPAYE, the estimator will display monthly payment amounts for all repayment plans so you can select the plan that is right for you.
How to Submit Your Request for REPAYE
Skip the paperwork and have your request processed faster by completing it online at https://studentaid.gov. This is the quickest and easiest way to submit your request. You will need your FSA ID, personal information, spouse information (if applicable), and income information to complete the request.
If you are unable to complete the online request, you can get a copy of the paper request form on our Forms page.
Additional Resources