Select Your Student Loan Repayment Plan With This Calculator
IBR, PAYE, REPAYE – If your student loan repayment options look like alphabet soup, there’s a new calculator that simplifies your decision-making process.
The appropriately named student loan calculator is uncluttered and easy to use. You enter the type of federal loan you have, your balance sheet, interest rates, and the number of payments made. You can also list your income and tax return status for an even more personalized recommendation.
The calculator will then show you estimated payments, due dates, and total payments for nine different repayment plans. You can see an overview of the limits for each plan, including those in which the payment amount is based on your discretionary income, and plans that require you to demonstrate financial difficulty.
The calculator was developed in collaboration with The Institute of Student Loan Advisors (TISLA) , a non-profit organization that offers advice to individual borrowers.
I took out a calculator to do a quick twiddle. Here’s what I got when I gave an example for someone with $ 30,000 in graduate loans and an annual salary of $ 50,000:
As you can see, it only shows you data for plans that you are truly eligible for, reducing the time you may have wasted researching programs that are not suitable for your loan type or your income status. Plus, you may find that the repayment plan you are using is already best suited to your financial situation, which can give you confidence and motivation during your long pay trip.
This tool does not take into account various circumstances: if you have private loans, you will not be able to use the calculator at all. And if you and your spouse have different loans, you cannot consider the repayment plans made by the spouse.
Of course, you’ll need to check with your loan agent to make sure you’re eligible for the repayment plan you want to upgrade to, but this calculator can make this initial research way easier.