Repayment Strategy 11 min

RAP vs IBR: Which Plan Should You Pick in 2026?

Updated on October 26, 2026 Published October 14, 2026

IBR usually costs less over the life of the loan, because it forgives after 20 or 25 years instead of RAP’s 30 and caps the payment at the 10-year Standard amount. RAP often has the lower monthly payment at moderate incomes, so pick RAP when you are pursuing PSLF and its payment is lower or when you want the balance to stop growing, and pick IBR when you expect forgiveness outside PSLF or your income is high relative to your family size. Your IBR terms depend on when you first borrowed: 10% of discretionary income and 20 years if you first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014, 15% and 25 years if you had a federal loan balance before that (Federal Student Aid, Income-Driven Repayment Plans).

Every dollar figure below comes from the Finology Software engine, run on October 14, 2026 through the free calculator on this site, using the 10% IBR terms. Both plans are permanent; unlike PAYE, neither ends in 2028.

RAP vs IBR at a glance

	RAP	IBR
Monthly payment	1% to 10% of your total AGI by $10,000 band, divided by 12, minus $50 for each dependent	10% of discretionary income (first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014) or 15% (earlier borrowers); discretionary income is AGI above 150% of the poverty guideline
Payment cap	No cap	Never more than the 10-year Standard payment
Lowest payment	$10 a month	Can be $0
Forgiveness	After 30 years (360 payments)	After 20 years (10% terms) or 25 years (15% terms)
Unpaid interest	Waived each month you pay on time and in full, plus a principal match of up to $50	Accrues; covered on subsidized loans for the first 3 years only; capitalizes if you leave IBR
Counts for PSLF	Yes	Yes
Loans made on or after July 1, 2026	Eligible	Not eligible; one new loan limits all your Direct Loans to RAP and Tiered Standard
FFEL loans	Must be consolidated into a Direct Loan	Eligible without consolidating
Plan ends	No end date	No end date

Sources: Federal Student Aid, Income-Driven Repayment Plans; Federal Student Aid, One Big Beautiful Bill Act definitions; Federal Student Aid, IDR questions and answers; Pub. L. 119-21, section 82001.

For borrowers

Keep track of your own loans. A free borrower account puts every loan in one place, and you can find a student loan advisor when you want one.

Create your free account

For financial advisors

Advisors: compare every plan for each client from their own loan file. Start a free 7-day trial, no credit card required.

Start your free trial

Four borrowers, run through the engine

Computed October 14, 2026 with the free Finology Software calculator on finology.tech (the same engine advisors use). Direct Unsubsidized loans, no loan made on or after July 1, 2026, income held flat, no state entered, and a spouse with no federal student loans. Lifetime cost is every payment plus the estimated federal income tax on any balance forgiven outside PSLF. These are illustrations of how the formulas behave, not a projection of your loans. IBR is shown on the 10% terms for borrowers who first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014.

1. Single, $45,000 income, $35,000 balance at 5.5%

Plan	Monthly payment (year 1)	Forgiven	Est. tax on forgiveness	Lifetime cost
IBR (10%)	$176	$28,429 at 20 years	$5,714	$47,834
RAP	$150	$15,777 at 30 years	$2,931	$56,931
10-year Standard	$380	None, paid off in 10 years	$0	$45,581

RAP is $150 a month and IBR $176. Over the life of the loan IBR finishes $47,834 against RAP’s $56,931, because RAP bills for ten more years. If the Standard payment of $380 fits your budget, Standard is cheapest at $45,581.

2. Single, $90,000 income, $150,000 balance at 7.0%

Plan	Monthly payment (year 1)	Forgiven	Est. tax on forgiveness	Lifetime cost
IBR (10%)	$551	$227,880 at 20 years	$65,515	$197,635
RAP	$600	$132,000 at 30 years	$32,984	$248,984
10-year Standard	$1,742	None, paid off in 9.9 years	$0	$208,995

At $90,000 RAP charges 8% of the full income, $600 a month, slightly above IBR’s $551. IBR wins on both counts: lower payment and a lifetime cost of $197,635 against $248,984 on RAP, even after an estimated $65,515 of tax on the larger IBR forgiveness.

3. Head of household, one child, $55,000 income, $50,000 balance at 6.5%

Plan	Monthly payment (year 1)	Forgiven	Est. tax on forgiveness	Lifetime cost
IBR (10%)	$188	$69,920 at 20 years	$14,522	$59,602
RAP	$179	$32,000 at 30 years	$5,795	$70,295
10-year Standard	$568	None, paid off in 9.9 years	$0	$68,129

The payments are close: $179 on RAP after the $50 dependent deduction, $188 on IBR. The 20-year term gives IBR the lower lifetime cost, $59,602 against $70,295.

4. Pursuing PSLF: single, $62,000 income, $90,000 balance at 6.8%

Plan	Monthly payment (year 1)	Forgiven	Tax	Total you pay
IBR (10%)	$317	$113,140 through PSLF	$0 (PSLF is tax-free)	$38,060
RAP	$310	$84,000 through PSLF	$0 (PSLF is tax-free)	$37,200

With PSLF, forgiveness arrives tax-free after 120 qualifying payments on either plan. RAP’s $310 against IBR’s $317 makes RAP the cheaper route here, $37,200 over ten years against $38,060. At other incomes IBR is the lower payment, so run your own numbers before choosing.

How the payment formulas differ

IBR charges a share of discretionary income: your AGI minus 150% of the poverty guideline for your family size. The share is 10% if you first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014 and 15% if you had a balance before then (Federal Student Aid, IDR questions and answers). The payment never exceeds what the 10-year Standard plan would have charged when you entered IBR.

RAP charges a share of your entire AGI, rising from 1% just over $10,000 to 10% above $100,000, minus $50 a month per dependent, with a $10 minimum and no cap (Federal Student Aid, One Big Beautiful Bill Act definitions; Pub. L. 119-21, section 82001). With no poverty-line subtraction, RAP gives a family less relief for its size than IBR does, while the $50 per dependent helps families with several children.

20 or 25 years versus 30 years

IBR forgives after 240 payments on the 10% terms or 300 on the 15% terms; RAP after 360. Outside PSLF the extra years on RAP usually cost more than RAP saves each month. Forgiveness outside PSLF counts as taxable income, and the lifetime costs above include the engine’s estimate of that tax.

If you borrowed before July 1, 2014, IBR charges 15% instead of 10%, up to half again as much as the figures above (the Standard cap still applies), and forgiveness takes 25 years. That narrows IBR’s edge and can tip a moderate-income borrower to RAP. RAP vs PAYE vs IBR, all plans compared shows the 15% cohort at four incomes.

Interest: where RAP has the edge

RAP waives the unpaid interest for each month you pay on time and in full, and a matching payment reduces principal by up to $50 when your payment would not. With every payment on time, your balance never rises above where it started on RAP (Federal Student Aid, One Big Beautiful Bill Act definitions).

On IBR, interest your payment does not cover keeps accruing after the three-year subsidy on subsidized loans, and it capitalizes if you leave IBR (Federal Student Aid, IDR questions and answers). For a borrower who may pay the loan off rather than reach forgiveness, RAP’s interest treatment is worth real money.

PSLF on either plan

RAP and IBR are both income-driven plans, and all income-driven plans qualify for PSLF (Federal Student Aid, Public Service Loan Forgiveness). Forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments is tax-free, so choose whichever plan gives the lower monthly payment at your income. See Does RAP qualify for PSLF?

Switching between RAP and IBR

IBR to RAP: progress toward forgiveness carries over, but the clock becomes 30 years (Federal Student Aid, One Big Beautiful Bill Act definitions), and unpaid IBR interest capitalizes when you leave IBR (Federal Student Aid, IDR questions and answers).
RAP to IBR: a borrower eligible for IBR may return to it. A RAP month counts toward IBR forgiveness when its payment was at least the 10-year Standard payment (34 CFR 685.209(k)(4)).
A new loan on or after July 1, 2026, including a consolidation loan, takes IBR off the table for all your Direct Loans.

Which one fits you

Choose IBR if you are not pursuing PSLF and expect a balance to remain after 20 years; the shorter term usually wins.
Choose IBR if your income is high relative to your family size; the Standard cap keeps the payment in check while RAP keeps climbing.
Choose IBR if you hold FFEL loans and want an income-driven plan without consolidating.
Choose RAP if you are pursuing PSLF and RAP’s payment is the lower one.
Choose RAP if you expect to pay the loan off and want the balance to stop growing from unpaid interest.
Choose RAP if you took a loan on or after July 1, 2026; RAP and Tiered Standard are the plans open to you.

Run your own numbers

The calculator below produced every figure on this page. It shows RAP, IBR, PAYE and Standard side by side. For a two-plan view use the RAP vs IBR calculator; for single-plan detail, the RAP payment calculator and the IBR calculator. For every plan explained together, see RAP vs PAYE vs IBR, all plans compared.

Frequently asked questions

Which is cheaper, RAP or IBR?

Over the life of the loan IBR is usually cheaper outside PSLF, because it forgives after 20 or 25 years instead of 30. In the engine example at $45,000 of income on a $35,000 balance, RAP was $150 a month and IBR $176, but IBR’s lifetime cost was $47,834 against RAP’s $56,931.

Is RAP’s monthly payment always lower than IBR’s?

No. RAP counts your full AGI and has no cap, so at higher incomes it can exceed IBR. At $90,000 of income RAP was $600 a month and IBR $551.

Do I get IBR at 10% or 15%?

10% of discretionary income with forgiveness after 20 years if you first borrowed on or after July 1, 2014; 15% with forgiveness after 25 years if you had a federal loan balance before that date (Federal Student Aid).

Can I switch from IBR to RAP?

Yes. Progress toward forgiveness carries over, the forgiveness clock becomes 30 years, and unpaid interest capitalizes when you leave IBR.

Can I switch from RAP back to IBR?

Yes, if your loans are eligible for IBR. A RAP month counts toward IBR forgiveness when its payment was at least the 10-year Standard payment (34 CFR 685.209(k)(4)).

Can a loan made after July 1, 2026 use IBR?

No. If any Direct Loan, including a consolidation loan, was first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, all of your Direct Loans are limited to RAP and the Tiered Standard plan (Federal Student Aid).

Do both RAP and IBR count for PSLF?

Yes. All income-driven plans qualify for PSLF, and forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments is tax-free, so the lower monthly payment is the cheaper plan for a public servant.