Table of Contents
- 1 How many income-based repayment plans are available?
- 2 What is the standard repayment scenario for repaying federal direct student loans?
- 3 Do I have to consolidate my student loans for income-based repayment?
- 4 Does my spouse income affect my income-based repayment?
- 5 Do I have to consolidate my student loans for income based repayment?
- 6 Are Direct Consolidation loans owned by the government?
- 7 How does Income Contingent Repayment work for Direct Plus Loans?
- 8 What’s the minimum monthly payment for a direct loan?
How many income-based repayment plans are available?
four income-driven repayment plans
Our Income-Driven Plans page has basic information and answers to common questions about the four income-driven repayment plans that we offer: Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE Plan) Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan) Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan)
What is the standard repayment scenario for repaying federal direct student loans?
Monthly Payment and Time Frame Your monthly payments will be either 10 or 15 percent of discretionary income (depending on when you received your first loans), but never more than you would have paid under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan.
What is a Direct Consolidation loan?
A Direct Consolidation Loan allows you to consolidate (combine) multiple federal education loans into one loan. The result is a single monthly payment instead of multiple payments. Loan consolidation can also give you access to additional loan repayment plans and forgiveness programs.
What are some re payment options you qualify for?
Federal Student Loan Repayment Options
- Standard Repayment Plan.
- Graduated Repayment Plan.
- Extended Repayment Plan.
- Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE)
- Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE)
- Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR)
- Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR)
- Income-Sensitive Repayment Plan.
Do I have to consolidate my student loans for income-based repayment?
There is no minimum monthly payment. Unlike income-contingent repayment, which is available only in the Direct Loan program, income-based repayment is available in both the Direct Loan program and the federally-guaranteed student loan program, and loan consolidation is not required.
Does my spouse income affect my income-based repayment?
If you file your taxes as “married filing jointly,” your income and your spouse’s income will be combined into one adjusted gross income. That’s because to qualify for income-based repayment or Pay As You Earn, your monthly payment must be less than what it would be under the standard repayment plan.
Do direct loans qualify for all federal repayment plan options?
The Revised Pay As You Earn Plan is only offered on Direct Loans. However, all Direct Loans, no matter what date they were taken out, are eligible. You can still apply for the Revised Pay As You Earn plan even if you do not qualify for a lower payment than you would on the Standard Repayment Plan.
What does consolidate a loan mean?
Consolidation combines loans into one monthly payment with one servicer. Consolidating your loans may make it easier to keep track of your loans if you have more than one student loan with more than one servicer or company.
Do I have to consolidate my student loans for income based repayment?
Are Direct Consolidation loans owned by the government?
Direct Consolidation Loans are made by the U.S. Department of Education. Federal Consolidation Loans are made through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. No new loans are being made under the FFEL Program. All new loans, and therefore consolidation of those loans, are made under the Direct Loan Program.
Can you make too much money for income-based repayment?
While making too much won’t get someone thrown out of the plan or affect eligibility for loan forgiveness, there are other ways to lose the option to make monthly payments based on income. “If you don’t document your income every year, your servicer could boot you out of an income-based payment,” says Jarvis.
Can direct unsubsidized loans be forgiven?
If you meet all the qualifications, you can receive up to $17,500 of student loan forgiveness for subsidized and unsubsidized Direct and Stafford Loans. Unfortunately, PLUS Loans and Perkins loans are not eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
How does Income Contingent Repayment work for Direct Plus Loans?
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). Income-contingent repayment is available for direct loans, direct PLUS loans made to students and direct consolidation loans. The monthly payment is the lesser of 20% of your discretionary income or how much you’d pay every month on a 12-year fixed repayment plan.
What’s the minimum monthly payment for a direct loan?
Standard Repayment is right for you if you can afford your monthly payments and want to pay your loans off as quickly as possible. Quickest payoff. Fixed monthly payments. The minimum monthly payment under this plan is $50 per loan program. For example: The minimum monthly payment for all of your loans within the Federal Direct Loan Program is $50.
Are there income driven repayment plans for federal student loans?
If you feel like your monthly payments are too much, there’s a solution. The Department of Education offers income-driven repayment (IDR) plans to borrowers who qualify, and they can lower your payments to as little as 10 percent of your discretionary income.
How to request an income driven repayment plan?
Submit the income-driven repayment plan request form online at StudentLoans.gov, or fill out a paper form, which you can get from your loan servicer. Remember: For IBR and PAYE, you must demonstrate financial need to be eligible.