This shows your required monthly student loan payment under the ICR Plan based on your income, family size, and loan balance. Use this to decide if ICR makes payments more manageable than Standard or Graduated plans.

The total amount you’ll pay over 25 years, including both principal and interest. This figure helps you assess the long-term impact of choosing ICR versus other repayment plans.

The amount of debt that could be forgiven after 25 years of qualifying payments. Note: Forgiveness may have tax implications, so consider consulting a tax advisor.

See how your payments are divided over time. ICR often prioritizes interest, especially early in repayment, which can lead to higher overall costs compared to faster payoff strategies.

Use your results to make the most of your student loans:

• Explore other Income-driven plans like SAVE or PAYE to find the lowest payment.

• Check if PSLF can reduce your repayment timeline to 10 years.

• Reduce interest charges by making extra payments when possible.

Enter your current loan balance and the original amount you borrowed. These numbers show how much progress you’ve made in repaying your loan. You can find them on your loan servicer’s website or in a recent statement.

Input your current student loan interest rate. If you have multiple loans with different rates, use the average. An estimate is fine—this helps calculate your potential savings or costs.

Provide the following information to estimate your ICR payment:

• Annual Income: Use your adjusted gross income (AGI) from your latest tax return.

• Family Size: Include yourself, your spouse, and dependents.

• Tax Filing Status: Single or married filing jointly affects your repayment options.

Enter what you’re paying now on your federal student loans. This lets you compare your current plan to ICR and other options.

If you’re working toward forgiveness programs like PSLF, enter the number of qualifying payments you’ve made so far. This helps track your progress and estimate your remaining timeline to forgiveness.

Income-Contingent Repayment offers unique flexibility for federal borrowers:

• Payments are capped at 20% of discretionary income.

• Available to Parent PLUS borrowers after loan consolidation.

• Forgiveness after 25 years of qualifying payments.

• No partial financial hardship requirement, unlike IBR or PAYE.

Every repayment plan has trade-offs. Here’s how ICR stacks up:

• SAVE Plan: Generally offers lower payments than ICR but isn’t available for Parent PLUS loans unless you use the double consolidation loophole. Note that the SAVE plan might be eliminated if the Trump administration doesn’t take steps to protect it from legal challenges.

• PAYE and IBR: Provide better terms for most borrowers but require partial financial hardship to qualify.

• Standard Repayment: Keeps costs lower overall but may not fit your monthly budget. Learn more about this repayment plan.

ICR might be your best option if:

• You’ve consolidated Parent PLUS loans and need an IDR Plan to lower your payments.

• Your income disqualifies you from IBR or PAYE, but you still want income-based payments.

• You’re pursuing PSLF and want to keep your monthly payments low while working in public service.

• You have a high income but want a payment cap to avoid monthly overpaying.

The right repayment plan depends on your goals:

• Are you focused on monthly affordability or total cost savings?

• Do you plan to pursue forgiveness through PSLF or stick with the long-term forgiveness timeline?

• Do you need federal protections, or could refinancing better suit your situation?

Use this calculator to explore your options, then evaluate how ICR fits into your overall repayment strategy.