Key Takeaway
- For a single borrower on the 10 percent version of IBR, RAP is cheaper only between roughly $34,000 and $70,000 of AGI, and by $50.50 a month at the very most. Below and above that band, IBR wins, and above $80,000 the gap opens fast.
- Family size breaks the comparison: each household member adds $8,520 to IBR's protected income, worth $71 a month. RAP gives $50 per dependent child and nothing for a spouse. For a couple filing jointly on 10 percent IBR, RAP is never cheaper.
- IBR forgives after 20 years (25 for pre-2014 borrowers). RAP forgives after 30. And it is a one-way door: RAP payments generally do not count toward IBR's clock, while consolidating or borrowing anything on or after July 1, 2026 locks you onto the new track.
- RAP's genuine advantage is interest: unpaid interest is waived and principal drops at least $50 a month. Since the tax exemption on income-driven forgiveness expired with 2025, IBR's grown balance is the one that gets taxed at forgiveness.
- Pre-2014 (15 percent) single borrowers, PSLF borrowers, and people whose balance dwarfs their income have a real case for RAP. Everyone else keeps IBR. Either way, enroll in autopay by September 30 for the one-point interest discount.
For a single borrower, the new Repayment Assistance Plan beats Income-Based Repayment by $50 a month at the very most, and only between about $34,000 and $70,000 of income. Then there are the ten extra years.
The Repayment Assistance Plan opened for enrollment on July 1 with a pitch that sounds like relief: payments as low as 1 percent of income, interest that stops piling up, and a bill that always shrinks the balance. The plan it competes with, Income-Based Repayment, is the incumbent, and it now takes anyone whose loans predate July 2026, no hardship test required. So the question borrowers have been feeding into calculators all summer, IBR vs RAP, which is cheaper, deserves an answer with real numbers in it. Here they are, from the 2026 poverty guidelines and the Department of Education's own bracket table: for a single borrower, RAP wins by $50 a month at the absolute most, inside a band that runs from roughly $34,000 to $70,000 of adjusted gross income. Outside that band, IBR is cheaper. And the monthly bill turns out to be the smaller half of the decision.
The two formulas start from different numbers
IBR charges 10 percent of discretionary income, or 15 percent if your first federal loan predates July 2014. Discretionary income means AGI minus 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size. For a single person in the lower 48 states in 2026, that protected amount is $23,940, so the first $23,940 you earn costs you nothing. IBR also caps the payment at whatever the standard 10-year plan would charge, and on a joint return it counts your spouse, plus every dependent, toward family size.
RAP throws out the protected amount. It takes a percentage of your entire AGI, from 1 percent at $10,001 up to 10 percent above $100,000, rising one point per $10,000 bracket, divides by 12, then subtracts $50 per dependent child. The floor is $10 a month, so $0 payments are gone. There is no cap. And the percentage applies to every dollar, not just the dollars in the top bracket, which creates a staircase with sharp edges. At $70,000 of AGI the RAP bill is $350. At $70,001 it is $408.34. One dollar of income buys a $58 monthly raise in your payment, and the brackets are not indexed to inflation, so the staircase drifts toward you every year.
| Feature | IBR | RAP |
|---|---|---|
| Payment formula | 10% of discretionary income (15% if first loan predates July 2014) | 1% to 10% of total AGI, rising one point per $10,000 bracket |
| Protected income | 150% of poverty line ($23,940 single, 2026) | None |
| Payment cap | Standard 10-year payment | None |
| Minimum payment | $0 possible | $10 floor |
| Spouse (joint filers) | Counts toward family size, +$8,520 protected | Income counted, no credit |
| Dependent child | +$8,520 protected income each (about $71/month) | Flat $50/month each |
| Unpaid interest | Covered only on subsidized loans, 3 years | Waived; principal drops at least $50/month |
| Forgiveness | 20 years (25 for pre-2014) | 30 years |
For a single borrower, RAP wins by $50 at most
Run both formulas for a single borrower with no kids on the 10 percent version of IBR and the result is a narrow window, not a landslide.
| AGI | IBR (10%) | RAP | Cheaper plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $8.83 | $41.67 | IBR by $33 |
| $35,000 | $92.17 | $87.50 | RAP by $5 |
| $50,000 | $217.17 | $166.67 | RAP by $51 |
| $60,000 | $300.50 | $250.00 | RAP by $51 |
| $70,000 | $383.83 | $350.00 | RAP by $34 |
| $75,000 | $425.50 | $437.50 | IBR by $12 |
| $90,000 | $550.50 | $600.00 | IBR by $50 |
| $120,000 | $800.50 | $1,000.00 | IBR by $200 |
The pattern: below about $34,000, IBR's protected income beats RAP's low percentages. Between roughly $34,000 and $70,000, RAP is cheaper, peaking at $50.50 a month at the very top of the $50,000 and $60,000 brackets and shrinking to a few dollars right after each bracket line. From $70,001 up, IBR wins again, apart from a $200 sliver just under $80,000, and above $80,000 the gap opens fast. IBR's standard-payment cap shrinks its bill further for high earners with modest balances. RAP has no such cap.
The 15 percent crowd is the exception. If your first loan predates July 2014, IBR wants 15 cents of every discretionary dollar, and RAP undercuts it at every income above about $28,000: at $60,000, IBR is $450.75 and RAP is $250, and the gap stays above $100 a month through most of the income range until IBR's cap kicks in. For those borrowers the monthly math points at RAP.
A spouse is worth $71 a month under IBR and nothing under RAP
Family size is where the two plans stop being comparable. Every additional household member raises IBR's protected income by $8,520 a year (150 percent of the $5,680 per-person step in the 2026 guidelines), which cuts a 10 percent payment by $71 a month. A spouse counts, as long as the couple files jointly. Under RAP, a dependent child is worth a flat $50 and a spouse is worth nothing, while a joint tax return puts the spouse's entire income into the formula.
A married borrower with one child and $70,000 of joint AGI pays $241.83 on IBR and $300 on RAP. Two kids and $80,000 of joint income: $254.17 on IBR, $366.67 on RAP. The more people in the house, the worse RAP looks, and no bracket rescues it. For a couple filing jointly on the 10 percent version, there is no income at which RAP is cheaper. Filing separately keeps the spouse's income out of both formulas, and it drops the spouse from IBR's family size too, which puts a childless couple back on the single-borrower map above.
The monthly payment is the smaller half of the decision
Three things outrank the dollar difference on the bill, and all three are in the statute, not the rollout.
The clock. IBR forgives whatever is left after 20 years, or 25 for pre-2014 borrowers. RAP forgives after 30. Ten extra years of payments is not a rounding error, and the Congressional Research Service says that borrowers with high debt relative to income, the ones who would reach forgiveness under any plan, will likely pay more out of pocket under RAP because of the longer period. The Congressional Budget Office scores the whole repayment overhaul at $270.5 billion less federal spending over ten years. That money comes from somewhere.
The door. Payments you made under IBR, PAYE, ICR or SAVE all count toward RAP's 360. Payments made under RAP generally do not count toward IBR's 240 or 300, per the National Consumer Law Center's read of the final rule. Try RAP for three years, go back to IBR, and those three years are gone from the IBR clock. Consolidating any loan on or after July 1, 2026, or borrowing a single new dollar, is worse: it moves every loan you have onto the new track, where RAP and a fixed plan are the only options.
The interest. RAP's real gift is that unpaid interest is not charged, and principal drops by at least $50 a month even when the payment covers none of it. IBR only covers unpaid interest on subsidized loans, and only for three years. Take a $100,000 balance at 6.5 percent: interest runs $541.67 a month. A single borrower at $50,000 pays $166.67 on RAP and the balance still falls $50 a month. On IBR the payment is $217.17 and the balance grows by $324.50 a month. That matters more than it used to, because the tax exemption on income-driven forgiveness expired with 2025. Forgiveness under either plan is now taxable income in the year it lands, and IBR's grown balance is the one that gets taxed. PSLF stays tax-free. (What remains of the forgiveness landscape is in our student loan forgiveness guide.)
Pick IBR unless one of three things is true
PSLF borrowers get a pass on all of the above. Pick whichever plan has the smaller payment this year and move as your income moves; the 30-year clock is irrelevant when forgiveness arrives at 120 payments, and RAP payments count toward it.
Pre-2014 borrowers who are single have a real monthly case for RAP, often $100 or more. Weigh that against 25 years becoming 30, and against the door closing behind you.
Borrowers whose balance dwarfs their income may come out ahead on RAP because the interest waiver keeps the number they will eventually be taxed on from growing for two decades. Run the specific figures before buying the extra ten years.
Everyone else, which means single borrowers under $34,000 or over $70,000 and every couple filing jointly on the 10 percent version, keeps IBR. It is cheaper now, it forgives ten years sooner, and nothing about it is a one-way door. The new plan is a fine product for people who borrow next year. For people who borrowed before July, it is mostly a way to pay about the same amount for a decade longer. The repayment overhaul that created RAP came out of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the rest of that law's changes to household finances are covered there.
Two deadlines apply either way. Borrowers who were parked in SAVE got a servicer notice that started a 90-day window, and the ones who let it lapse likely land in the standard plan. And the autopay interest discount jumped from a quarter point to a full point on July 1, running through June 2028, but only for borrowers enrolled in autopay with their servicer by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 30. That is five days from now. Ten minutes on the servicer's site buys about $500 a year of interest on a $50,000 balance, which is more than most borrowers would save by switching plans at all. The finance desk will keep running the numbers as the rollout settles.
Frequently asked questions
Is RAP or IBR cheaper per month?
For a single borrower on the 10 percent version of IBR, RAP is cheaper only between roughly $34,000 and $70,000 of AGI, and by $50.50 a month at the very most (at the top of the $50,000 and $60,000 brackets). At $25,000, IBR is $33 cheaper; at $90,000, IBR is $50 cheaper; at $120,000, IBR is $200 cheaper. For pre-2014 borrowers on the 15 percent version, RAP is cheaper at nearly every income above about $28,000, often by $100 or more.
How is the RAP payment calculated?
RAP takes a percentage of your entire adjusted gross income, not just income above a protected amount. The rate is 1 percent at $10,001 to $20,000 and rises one point per $10,000 bracket to 10 percent above $100,000, applied to every dollar. Divide by 12, then subtract $50 per dependent child. The minimum payment is $10 a month, there is no cap, and the brackets are not indexed to inflation. Crossing a bracket line by one dollar can raise the payment sharply: $350 at $70,000 becomes $408.34 at $70,001.
How long until forgiveness under IBR vs RAP?
IBR forgives the remaining balance after 20 years of payments, or 25 years if your first federal loan predates July 2014. RAP forgives after 30 years. Since the tax exemption on income-driven forgiveness expired with 2025, forgiveness under either plan is taxable income in the year it lands. PSLF forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments remains tax-free, and payments under either plan count toward it.
Can you switch from RAP back to IBR?
Not cleanly. Payments made under IBR, PAYE, ICR, or SAVE count toward RAP's 360-payment clock, but payments made under RAP generally do not count toward IBR's 240 or 300, according to the National Consumer Law Center's reading of the final rule. Years spent on RAP are lost to the IBR clock. Consolidating any loan or borrowing new money on or after July 1, 2026 moves all your loans onto the new track, where RAP and a fixed plan are the only options.
Does RAP stop interest from growing?
Yes. Under RAP, unpaid interest is not charged and principal falls by at least $50 a month even when the payment covers none of it. On a $100,000 balance at 6.5 percent, a single borrower earning $50,000 pays $166.67 on RAP and the balance still drops $50 a month; on IBR the payment is $217.17 and the balance grows by $324.50 a month. IBR covers unpaid interest only on subsidized loans, and only for three years.
What is the September 30 autopay deadline?
The autopay interest rate discount rose from 0.25 to a full percentage point on July 1, 2026, running through June 2028, but only for borrowers enrolled in autopay with their servicer by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on September 30, 2026. On a $50,000 balance that is roughly $500 a year in interest, more than most borrowers would save by switching repayment plans.
