The Reimbursement Help Plan, or RAP, is the most recent pupil mortgage reimbursement plan, created from President Donald Trump’s “massive, stunning invoice.”
The plan is slated to roll out on July 1, 2026. It is going to substitute the prevailing income-driven reimbursement program. Whereas some debtors may need decrease month-to-month payments on RAP in comparison with present income-driven reimbursement plans, they might additionally see an extended reimbursement time period and pay extra total.
Most federal pupil mortgage debtors can entry RAP, together with debtors with graduate college debt. Nevertheless, guardian PLUS mortgage debtors aren’t eligible.
RAP at a look:
Reimbursement time period till forgiveness: 30 years.
Fee quantities: 1-10% of your annual adjusted gross revenue; proportion is predicated on incomes stage. $10 flat funds for these incomes $10,000 per 12 months or much less.
Different {qualifications}: Will need to have federal direct or grad PLUS loans.
Finest for: Debtors with a considerable amount of debt relative to their revenue, who take out a mortgage on or after July 1, 2026. These debtors are ineligible for present income-driven reimbursement plans.
Reimbursement Help Plan: timeline and choices for debtors
New and present debtors could join RAP beginning on July 1, 2026.
For those who took out your whole pupil loans previous to July 1, 2026, you should have these reimbursement choices going ahead:
The Training Division will remove the Saving on a Priceless Training (SAVE), Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and Earnings-Contingent Reimbursement (ICR) plans by July 1, 2028. IBR and RAP can be your solely income-driven choices.
For those who take out a brand new pupil mortgage on or after July 1, 2026, your whole loans will change into ineligible for IBR, together with the graduated and prolonged plans. (July 1, 2026 is the primary day you possibly can take out a federal pupil mortgage for the 2026-27 educational 12 months.)
As an alternative, you’ll solely have two reimbursement choices:
Customary reimbursement plan, which isn’t tied to revenue.
That is the case even if in case you have some older loans, since you should repay all loans on the identical reimbursement plan. For instance:
Say you began your undergraduate program throughout the 2024-2025 college 12 months and took out a federal pupil mortgage. Then for the third college 12 months — 2026-2027 — you should borrow extra. Now it’s after that July 1, 2026 deadline. So each loans, together with these from the 2024-2025 college 12 months, could be ineligible for IBR.
Or, perhaps you completed your undergrad in 2024 and have already got federal loans. For those who return to high school for a grasp’s diploma in 2027 and take out federal loans for it, each these and the undergrad loans would change into ineligible for IBR.
RAP timeline abstract and motion gadgets
RAP turns into accessible. New and present debtors can elect to enroll within the plan.
Debtors who take out a brand new mortgage on or after this date will solely have entry to RAP or the usual reimbursement plan.
July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028.
Debtors with all pre-July 1, 2026 loans can stay of their present income-driven reimbursement plan – SAVE, PAYE, ICR or IBR – throughout this time.
Nevertheless, they need to enroll within the Earnings-Based mostly Reimbursement (IBR) plan by June 30, 2028 on the newest to get grandfathered into the income-driven reimbursement program.
The most recent date when debtors with all pre-July 1, 2026 loans, who’re nonetheless enrolled in SAVE, PAYE or ICR, can be moved into RAP. They won’t have the choice to enroll in IBR sooner or later.
How one can estimate your month-to-month Reimbursement Help Plan invoice
RAP month-to-month funds are graduated based mostly in your annual adjusted gross revenue (AGI) within the earlier tax 12 months. The extra you earn, the bigger the slice of your revenue you’ll pay every month towards your pupil loans.
Discover your RAP base cost
1% of adjusted gross revenue (AGI).
Upon getting your base cost, use this system to calculate your month-to-month RAP invoice:
(RAP base cost / 12) – $50 per dependent = Estimated month-to-month RAP cost
Mother or father PLUS loans ineligible for Reimbursement Help Plan
You probably have present guardian PLUS loans, and also you need decrease funds based mostly on revenue at any level sooner or later, you will need to do the next:
These strikes will mean you can transition to the IBR plan, so you possibly can keep within the income-driven reimbursement system till you repay your loans. For those who do not do that, the usual reimbursement plan can be your solely choice going ahead.
Any debtors who take out a brand new guardian PLUS mortgage on or after July 1, 2026 can solely entry the usual plan — together with for any older guardian PLUS loans. Maintain this in thoughts if in case you have a pupil who’s at present in school.
Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness and the Reimbursement Help Plan
Debtors who take out loans on or after July 1, 2026, should select RAP so as to profit from Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness (PSLF). PSLF forgives remaining federal pupil debt after 10 years of working a public service job and making pupil mortgage funds.
The Reimbursement Help Plan vs. income-driven reimbursement plans
Although the RAP nonetheless ties funds to revenue, it has just a few key variations from present income-driven reimbursement plans. For instance:
RAP doesn’t take inflation under consideration. RAP makes use of adjusted gross revenue (AGI) to calculate funds, whereas IDR plans use discretionary revenue.
Discretionary revenue for IDR plans is the distinction between your revenue and 100%, 150% or 225% of the federal poverty line. Moreover, the federal poverty line adjustments over time in response to inflation, so discretionary revenue — and pupil mortgage funds — change in consequence.
AGI is your revenue minus some tax deductions, and it doesn’t take inflation over time under consideration. Which means RAP funds could change into tougher to handle within the long-term.
Adjustments to household dimension reductions. IDR plans modify funds based mostly on household dimension — which can embrace mother and father or different adults in your house. The RAP calculation solely considers dependent kids.
No $0 funds. In contrast to income-driven reimbursement plans, you’ll by no means have $0 month-to-month funds on RAP in case you lose your job or have a really low revenue. The bottom cost you possibly can have is $10.
RAP is dearer than SAVE for all debtors. Debtors face increased month-to-month funds on RAP than on SAVE, no matter their revenue or household dimension, in response to a latest evaluation by the Pupil Borrower Safety Heart, a nonprofit borrower advocacy and analysis group. Launched by the Biden administration, SAVE was beforehand probably the most reasonably priced pupil mortgage plan.
The ICR plan is the one present income-driven choice that’s persistently dearer than RAP, the evaluation discovered.
How RAP stacks up towards present income-driven reimbursement plans
Reimbursement Help Plan (RAP)
Earnings-Based mostly Reimbursement (IBR)
Saving on a Priceless Training (SAVE)
Earnings-Contingent Reimbursement (ICR)
Reimbursement time period / time to forgiveness
Quantity of protected revenue (the rest is discretionary)
150% of revenue above the federal poverty line in your location and household dimension.
225% of revenue above the federal poverty line in your location and household dimension.
100% of revenue above the federal poverty line in your location and household dimension.
150% of revenue above the federal poverty line in your location and household dimension.
$10, or 1-10% of your adjusted gross revenue.
10% or 15% of discretionary revenue.
10% of discretionary revenue.
20% of discretionary revenue.
10% of discretionary revenue.
$50 month-to-month low cost per dependent youngster.
Components takes whole household dimension under consideration.
Components takes whole household dimension under consideration.
Components takes whole household dimension under consideration.
Components takes whole household dimension under consideration.
Unpaid curiosity every month is waived, so stability can’t develop.
Unpaid curiosity every month waived for first three years on backed loans; no curiosity waiver on different mortgage sorts.
Unpaid curiosity every month is waived, so stability can’t develop.
No curiosity subsidy. Unpaid curiosity builds every month, probably rising excellent stability.
Unpaid curiosity every month waived for first three years on backed loans; no curiosity waiver on different mortgage sorts.
How present debtors can keep away from the Reimbursement Help Plan
For those who’re at present enrolled in one of many three income-driven reimbursement plans which might be going away — SAVE, PAYE or ICR — your pupil mortgage servicer will mechanically transfer you into the RAP by July 1, 2028. There’s no going again.
You’ll be able to keep away from RAP by signing up for the Earnings-Based mostly Reimbursement (IBR) plan on studentaid.gov/IDR earlier than July 1, 2028 — on the very newest. Don’t delay your IBR enrollment, since purposes can take time to course of, and the Training Division could attempt to velocity up this deadline.
For those who enroll in IBR, you possibly can keep on that plan till you repay your loans. You’ll nonetheless have the choice to change to RAP or the usual plan down the road.
The higher reimbursement plan — RAP or IBR — is determined by your revenue, total monetary state of affairs, household dimension and pupil debt quantity. Earlier than selecting between RAP and IBR, examine your estimated month-to-month funds, whole reimbursement prices and forgiveness timelines underneath every plan.
