This student loan calculator compares the SAVE plan to other income-driven repayment plans, such as new and old IBR, PAYE, and refinancing. It's updated with the latest 2024 federal poverty line numbers. If you want to model more complex scenarios, you can also download a more powerful copy of this calculator as a spreadsheet.
What is your family size? Enter the total number of people in your family including you, your spouse, and your children. Include unborn children who will be born this year.
What year did you start paying your student loans on an income driven plan? Enter today's year if you haven't started or just started
What annual rate of return do you think you can get on your investments?(%) Estimate of retirement and other stock market or other investments. The most common values used are between 2% and 10%.
What will your tax rate be in 20 to 25 years?(%) A tax rate between 20% and 50% is typical.
How much federal student debt do you owe? Input the current balance of all of your federal student loans.
What percent of your debt is from graduate school? Input the percent of your debt from graduate school
List the smaller of your prior year AGI or your current income Enter your adjusted gross income (AGI). You can find your AGI on your IRS Form 1040, line 8b. If you don't have this handy, you may use an estimate.
What's the average interest rate of all of your federal student loan debt? Enter your average interest rate (numbers only, do not include "%")
Did you borrow federal student loans before October 1, 2007?
Do you plan to work at a non profit or government employer full time for a period of at least 10 years? Enter "Yes" if you plan to work for an Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligible employer for at least 10 years.
Refinancing Assumptions
Do you want to use the automatic assumption that you can refinance your loans at 4.00% for a 10-year term, or would you like to manually model your own refinancing deal? Choosing "Automnatic" will assume you can refinance your student loans at 4% APR for a 10-year term. Choose "Manual" to customize the refinanced loan term and interest rate.
Income Growth Assumption
Do you want to forecast your income automatically at 3% annual growth or enter it manually? Choose "Automatic" to forecast 3% annual income growth. Choose "Manual" to enable a field to input your own annual income growth rate.
Inputs for Spouse
Are you legally married?
Spouse’s Income Growth Assumption
Summary
Your Student Loan Repayment Summary
| Repayment Plan | Total Payments | Forgiven Balance | Taxes on Forgiven Debt | Total Cost of Student Loan Repayment | Present Value(Cost in Today's Dollars) Present value is the sum of all cash flows over the life of your loan repayment, including payments and applicable taxes, discounted to the present. It's an effective way to compare the true cost of repayment plans that stretch over different periods of time. | Year Loans are Forgiven or Paid Off |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAVE | $54,035 | $150,000 | $60,000 | $114,035 | $52,948 | 2047 |
| Old REPAYE | $155,367 | $180,211 | $72,084 | $227,451 | $109,944 | 2047 |
| 25 Year Old IBR | $233,050 | $131,153 | $52,461 | $285,511 | $147,656 | 2047 |
| Refinancing | $182,241 | N/A | N/A | $182,241 | $147,758 | 2033 |
| Standard 10 Year | $199,837 | N/A | N/A | $199,837 | $162,024 | 2034 |
| PSLF | $17,977 | $185,152 | N/A | $17,977 | $14,765 | 2032 |
Your Spouse's Student Loan Repayment Summary
Details
Your Monthly Payment
| Year | SAVE | Old REPAYE | PAYE / New IBR 20 Year |
Old IBR 25 Year |
Standard 10 Year |
Refi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $147 | $376 | $376 | $564 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2025 | $152 | $387 | $387 | $581 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2026 | $156 | $399 | $399 | $598 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2027 | $161 | $411 | $411 | $616 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2028 | $166 | $423 | $423 | $635 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2029 | $171 | $436 | $436 | $654 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2030 | $176 | $449 | $449 | $674 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2031 | $181 | $463 | $463 | $694 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2032 | $187 | $476 | $476 | $715 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2033 | $192 | $491 | $491 | $736 | $1,665 | $1,519 |
| 2034 | $198 | $505 | $505 | $758 | ||
| 2035 | $204 | $521 | $521 | $781 | ||
| 2036 | $210 | $536 | $536 | $804 | ||
| 2037 | $217 | $552 | $552 | $828 | ||
| 2038 | $223 | $569 | $569 | $853 | ||
| 2039 | $230 | $586 | $586 | $879 | ||
| 2040 | $237 | $604 | $604 | $905 | ||
| 2041 | $244 | $622 | $622 | $932 | ||
| 2042 | $251 | $640 | $640 | $960 | ||
| 2043 | $259 | $659 | $989 | |||
| 2044 | $266 | $679 | $1,019 | |||
| 2045 | $274 | $700 | $1,049 | |||
| 2046 | $283 | $721 | $1,081 | |||
| 2047 | $283 | $742 | $1,113 | |||
| 2048 | ||||||
| 2049 |
Spouse's Monthly Payment
Your Student Debt Balance Over Time by Year
Your Spouse's Student Debt Balance Over Time by Year
Your Yearly Student Loan Interest
Your Spouse's Yearly Student Loan Interest
Present Value of Your Annual Student Loan Payments + Taxes on Forgiveness Using your investment return assumption above
Present Value of Spouse's Annual Student Loan Payments + Taxes on Forgiveness Using your investment return assumption above
Effective Interest Rate of Your Student Loans
| Year | SAVE | Old REPAYE | PAYE / New IBR 20 Year |
Old IBR 25 Year |
Standard 10 Year |
Refi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | ||||||
| 2025 | 1.22% | 4.48% | 5.83% | 5.91% | 6% | 4% |
| 2026 | 1.25% | 4.46% | 5.67% | 5.83% | 6% | 4% |
| 2027 | 1.29% | 4.45% | 5.52% | 5.77% | 6% | 4% |
| 2028 | 1.33% | 4.44% | 5.39% | 5.71% | 6% | 4% |
| 2029 | 1.37% | 4.43% | 5.26% | 5.66% | 6% | 4% |
| 2030 | 1.41% | 4.43% | 5.15% | 5.62% | 6% | 4% |
| 2031 | 1.45% | 4.43% | 5.04% | 5.59% | 6% | 4% |
| 2032 | 1.49% | 4.43% | 4.95% | 5.56% | 6% | 4% |
| 2033 | 1.54% | 4.44% | 4.86% | 5.55% | 6% | 4% |
| 2034 | 1.59% | 4.45% | 4.78% | 5.54% | 6% | 4% |
| 2035 | 1.63% | 4.47% | 4.71% | 5.55% | ||
| 2036 | 1.68% | 4.49% | 4.64% | 5.56% | ||
| 2037 | 1.73% | 4.51% | 4.58% | 5.58% | ||
| 2038 | 1.78% | 4.54% | 4.53% | 5.61% | ||
| 2039 | 1.84% | 4.57% | 4.48% | 5.66% | ||
| 2040 | 1.89% | 4.54% | 4.43% | 5.71% | ||
| 2041 | 1.95% | 4.64% | 4.39% | 5.78% | ||
| 2042 | 2.01% | 4.68% | 4.36% | 5.86% | ||
| 2043 | 2.07% | 4.73% | 5.96% | |||
| 2044 | 2.13% | 4.78% | 6% | |||
| 2045 | 2.19% | 4.84% | 6% | |||
| 2046 | 2.26% | 4.9% | 6% | |||
| 2047 | 2.33% | 4.97% | 6% | |||
| 2048 | ||||||
| 2049 |
Effective Interest Rate of Your Spouse's Student Loans
Here are the payment plans that you can model with the SAVE and student loan repayment calculator above.
- SAVE Plan (Saving on a Valuable Education), formerly known as Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE)
- Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
- Old REPAYE
- Standard 10-Year repayment
- 25-Year/Old IBR
- Refinancing
You can also compare PSLF to non-PSLF forgiveness options to review how loan terms like monthly payment amount, repayment term length, interest rate, and state of residence will result in the long term.
Predict Your SAVE Monthly Payment vs. Existing Options
You know what you're paying now, but you'd probably like to know what you could be paying in five years too. You'd also like a calculation to know if you should refinance your student loan debt.
Pretend you're a resident physician making $60,000 for the next four years. You'll finish your residency in July 2024. For half the year, you'd make a resident income of $60,000, but the other half the year, you'd make an attending income of $200,000. Hence, you'd make $130,000 for this “in-between” year.
Once you become an attending, you'll earn $200,000 adjusted up for inflation. What would your monthly student loan payments be under SAVE, PAYE, and IBR?
To find out, manually enter your income growth over time and instantly see how your monthly payments change.
If Refinancing is Your Best Option, Get Exclusive, Recommended Cash Bonuses
After entering all your info into the student loan calculator, you'll notice different costs for the various plans. If the student loan refinancing row shows up as the cheapest option, that means I think there's a chance you could save a lot of money by checking out offers from private lenders.
For example, see how much you could potentially save in interest by completing a quick rate check with Splash Financial (and you get a refinancing bonus of up to $1,000 if you end up using them).
Earnest: Best for flexible repayment
- Positives: Flexible repayment terms, custom loan payments
- Allows cosigners: Yes
- Deferment or forbearance available: Yes, up to 36 months
- Interest rates: Fixed starting at 4.29% APR; Variable starting at 5.89% APR
- Bonus: $200 for refinancing 50k to $99,999; $1000 for refinancing 100k or more.
Payment flexibility and consistently low rates make Earnest a top lender Student Loan Planner® readers use when refinancing student loans. Earnest also services its own loans and has a Rate Match program that matches competitors' contractual interest rates. If you refinance $100,000 or more, you can get a $1000 bonus ($500 Earnest bonus + $500 from Student Loan Planner®). *See Earnest disclosures
Many personal finance blogs and student loan-focused websites embed referral links and take all of the referral bonus for themselves. I think it's better for the reader and client to split it with you.
You'll get anywhere from $100-$750 AND a lower interest rate (which is the only reason to refinance student loans, of course). If you decide to refinance your loan amount after using this tool, I really appreciate it! You help me out a lot by supporting this site and keeping this tool free for others to use.
Of course, consider the potential downsides of refinancing federal student loans before making a decision.
How Does the Process Work and What are the Companies You Suggest?
You can check your rate without affecting your credit score. Moreover, it only takes as little as a couple of minutes. I suggest checking at several companies, as you never know who will show up with the best interest rates to refinance your college costs.
If you decide to go through with the refinancing, then your score takes a temporary hit. Even so, that's totally worth it if you're cutting your interest rate by 1%-3%. One time I even had a client who dropped her rate from 13% to under 3%. That result is unusual, but I see folks all the time who save thousands in interest payments by refinancing their loans. I highly suggest you look into it if you owe less than twice your income.
Want to check refinancing interest rates? Check out these awesome refinancing bonuses available to Student Loan Planner® readers and clients. You won't get them at all if you visit the lender websites directly. Additionally, it doesn't affect the interest rate they offer. So you should definitely check it out.
Need Help? Contact a Planner
Wondering what Student Loan Planner® can do for you? The average savings I find over the life of the loan payback period is over $80,000 per person.
In contrast, the cost of a consult is $595 for new clients and $495 for existing clients. Additionally, the savings I find varies widely, from $0 to over $300,000. Probably the most common amount of savings I find over 20-25 years is about $50,000. Please verify the info I'm telling you. Check out what Student Loan Planner® clients are saying by reading our reviews.
Many borrowers will use this tool and not ever contact me for help, and I'm cool with that. If that's you, please share it on social media and with your professional networks, if you find it useful. If you have comments on the tool or want to learn more about how I help craft student loan strategies, contact me directly.
Additional Student Loan Repayment Calculators
- Student Loan Refinance Calculator
- Student Loan Income-Based Repayment Plan (SAVE, IBR, PAYE) Calculator
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Calculator
- Student Loan Payoff Calculator
- Student Loan Interest Deduction Calculator
- Student Loan Interest Calculator
If you're looking for a calculator for help with private student loans, try the Payoff or Refinance calculators.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
SAVE is the modified version of REPAYE. It's the newest repayment plan and was introduced by the Biden administration. There are many key differences between the original plan and the new proposal, which are outlined here.
One main difference in the new proposal is borrowers with undergraduate student loans only would have payments capped at 5% of discretionary income rather than 10%. Also, borrowers owing less than $12,000 would have their student loan balance forgiven in 10 years rather than 20 to 25 years.
You can apply for the SAVE plan through your StudentAid.gov account. Once you're logged in, navigate to your My Aid section. From there, it takes about 10 minutes to complete and submit an application for the SAVE plan.
Your family size is the total number of people in your family, including you, your spouse and your children. You should also include unborn children who will be born this year.
Adjusted gross income is your annual income with certain adjustments subtracted. Your prior year AGI can be located on your tax return Form 1040 on line 11.
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I can't wait to help you save money on your student debt, whether you use our calculator or hire us for a one-on-one consult. We've worked with dozens of dentists, doctors, veterinarians, lawyers, business persons, chiropractors, pharmacists, physician's assistants, psychologists, family counselors and other professions! Get your plan today or download the more advanced copy of the calculator above in spreadsheet format by entering your info below.
