You will begin repaying your federal student loans six months after you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment. You have a variety of repayment plan options and have the opportunity to change your repayment plan at least annually. It is the responsibility of the borrower to contact the loan holder if repayment plan changes are needed.

• Standard Repayment: Repaying the loan in equal monthly payments of at least $50 for the life of the loan up to 120 months (10 years).
• Graduated Repayment: Repayment begins with a lower monthly payment and increases so that the loan is paid-off in 120 months (10 years).
• Extended Repayment: Available to the first-time federal student loan borrower after October 7, 1998. Students MUST HAVE at least $30,000 in Direct Loans OR at least $30,000 in FFELP loans.

Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans take into consideration your income and family size when calculating your monthly payment. These plans can help make your student loan debt more manageable by reducing your monthly payment. An IDR repayment plan may forgive any remaining debt on your loans if there is still a balance after a required number of payments have been made over 240 to 300 months (amount of time varies upon what repayment plan is selected).

• Income Based Repayment (IBR): Available to help FFELP and certain Direct Loan borrowers, this program uses your income, family size, and total student loan debt to cap your monthly payments at 15 percent of your discretionary monthly income.
• Pay As You Earn: Available to qualifying Direct Loan borrowers, this program uses your income, family size, and total student loan debt to calculate your monthly payments at 10 percent of your discretionary monthly income and uses the Standard plan amount as a cap to the payment. If a balance remains after 20 years of qualifying payments, Pay As You Earn forgives any remaining debt.
• Revised Pay As You Earn: Available to any borrower with Direct Loans, this program also calculates your monthly payment at 10 percent of your discretionary monthly income, but there is no cap on the payment amount. This program offers more of an interest subsidy than the other repayment plans. REPAYE forgives any remaining debt after 20 years of qualifying payments for undergraduate loans and after 25 years of qualifying payments for Grad PLUS loans.
• Income-Contingent Repayment: Available for Federal Direct Student Loans only, this plan adjusts the monthly payment annually based on the most recent tax year’s adjusted gross income (AGI), family size, and total amount borrowed. If a balance remains after 25 years of qualifying payments, ICR forgives any remaining debt.
• Income-Sensitive Repayment: Available for Federal Family Education Loan Program loans only, this plan provides for annual adjustments to the required monthly payment based on total income. The loan term is 120 months (10 years). Because the full balance must still be paid in 10 years, this plan is typically used only as short-term relief.

The Pay As You Earn Plan is only offered on Direct Loans. However, to be eligible, you must:

• Have taken out a Direct Loan on or after October 1, 2011.
• Not have had an outstanding balance on a Direct or FFELP Loan as of October 1, 2007, unless this balance was paid off before you received a new federal loan after October 1, 2007.

The Revised Pay As You Earn Plan is only offered on Direct Loans. However, all Direct Loans, no matter what date they were taken out, are eligible. You can still apply for the Revised Pay As You Earn plan even if you do not qualify for a lower payment than you would on the Standard Repayment Plan. Therefore, you do not need a Partial Financial Hardship to qualify for the Revised Pay As You Earn Plan.

Income-Based Repayment is offered on FFELP Loans and Direct Loans not eligible for Pay As You Earn. Parent Plus Loans, Federal Consolidated Loans with underlying Parent Plus Loans, and private loans are not eligible for Pay As You Earn, Revised Pay As You Earn, or Income-Based Repayment.

While the differences between these plans can be confusing, the good news is there is a single application form that covers four of these repayment plans (IBR, Pay As You Earn, Revised Pay As You Earn, and Income-Contingent). If you are unsure which to apply for, you may request for your servicer to automatically put you on the payment plan with the lowest monthly payment amount.

To get an estimate of what payment plans may look like, please see this Repayment Estimate Calculator. (Please note that some repayment options are only available under the Direct Loan Program. Learn more about how to consolidate your loans to the Direct Loan Program on the Department of Education's website.)

• Loan Balance Information: studentaid.gov
• Additional information about Income Driven Repayment can be found on the Department of Education’s website.

Some military personnel may get repayment assistance from the Department of Defense. If your National Guard or Reserve unit is called to active duty or you are a regular, active-duty member of the Armed Forces who is reassigned to another duty station, your loan payments may be temporarily suspended. NSLP's Military Mobilization Fact Sheet explains the details.

You may lower your monthly federal student loan payment by consolidating your federal student loans with different interest rates, repayment plans and loan holders into a new loan. However, consolidation may have some disadvantages, so carefully consider the pros and cons. To consolidate, you must be in your grace period or repaying your loans.

Loan Consolidation Calculator

• FFELP Stafford Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized)
• Federal Direct Loan (subsidized or unsubsidized)
• FFELP and Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
• FFELP and Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan
• FFELP and Federal Direct Consolidation Loan
• Perkins Loan
• Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL)
• Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL)
• Nursing Student Loan (NSL)
• SLS Loan (formerly ALAS Loan)
• Federal Insured Student Loan (FISL)

The interest rate is a fixed, weighted average of all the loans you consolidate, rounded to the next highest 1/8%, up to 8.25%.

You can choose a standard, graduated, income-contingent, income-based, or if applicable, an extended repayment plan and may change repayment plans at any time. However, borrowers who are required to repay under the income-contingent plan must make three consecutive monthly payments before changing to another plan. There is no limit to the number of times you may change plans. You will repay the loan over 10 to 30 years, depending on the initial balance of the consolidation loan and the repayment plan chosen.

You can apply for a federal direct consolidation loan by visiting https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/consolidation. If you are making payments on your federal student loans, talk to your loan holder about temporarily stopping them while your consolidation loan is processed.

Your federal student loan may be discharged if:

• You die, or the death of the student in the case of a Parent PLUS loan.
• You become totally and permanently disabled.
• Your school closes before you finish your program.
• Your school falsely certifies your loan.
• You are the victim of identity theft.

Part of your loan may be forgiven if you are a full-time teacher or your school does not make a refund you’re owed to your loan holder.

Contact your loan holder for additional information.

If you’re having difficulty making your federal student loan payment, contact your loan holder to find out how you can stay on track and avoid delinquency and default. Talk to your loan holder about the options that are available to you.

You can change your repayment plan at least once a year (some loan holders will let you change more frequently) or consolidate your federal student loans to make your payments more affordable.

You may be eligible for a deferment or forbearance to temporarily stop, delay or lower your payments for a short period of time.

In certain cases you may be eligible to have your loans or a portion of your loans cancelled or forgiven.

Don’t default on your federal student loan. The consequences of default can be serious. Click here to learn more.

In certain circumstances, you may qualify for a deferment or a forbearance that will temporarily stop, delay or lower your monthly federal student loan payment. Contact your loan holder; they will determine your eligibility and will let you know what information is needed in order to process the deferment or forbearance.

Sometimes you have a right to postpone your federal student loan payment by getting a deferment. Your federal student loan payment may be temporarily suspended while you gather the deferment information, so talk to your loan holder. The federal government pays the interest on your subsidized loan while your payments are deferred, but does not pay the interest on your unsubsidized loan.

The most common reasons for deferments are:

• Attending school at least half-time
• Studying full-time in a graduate fellowship program
• Participating in a full-time rehabilitation training program for disabled people
• Actively seeking employment, but unable to find a full-time job
• Experiencing financial difficulty
• Military service

Visit Inceptia's forms page to view the deferment forms available or contact your loan holder to see if you qualify for a deferment. The eligibility requirements are included in each form.

If you are having difficulty making your federal student loan payment and don’t qualify for a deferment, contact your loan holder about a forbearance to delay or lower your payment. Unlike a deferment where the federal government pays the interest on a subsidized loan, you are responsible for the interest on all loans during forbearance.

Your federal student loan is in default if you don’t make your monthly payments for 270 days. These are the consequences you may face:

• You may lose your federal and state income tax refunds.
• You may lose other federal or state payments.
• Legal action can be taken against you.
• You may be charged collection costs (including attorney fees).
• You may lose your professional license.
• The interest rate on the loan may increase.
• You may lose eligibility for other student aid and assistance under most federal benefit programs.
• You may lose your eligibility for federal student loan deferments.
• Information about your loan will be reported to national credit bureaus and hurt your credit rating.
• Your employer may be required to take part of your wages to pay your federal student loan (wage garnishment).

Take the necessary steps to get out of default by paying off your federal student loan or rehabilitating your federal student loan by making nine payments, within 20 days of your due date, over 10 months.

Locate Your Federal Loan Information

• Locate Your Federal Student Loans (Federal Student Aid)

General Loan Information

• Your Federal Student Loan Borrower Rights and Responsibilities
• Returning to School

Repayment Information

• Federal Student Loan Repayment Plan Options
• Federal Student Loan Consolidation Information
• Cancellation / Discharge / forgiveness of Loans
  • Federal Student Loan Cancellation (Discharge)
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
  • Teacher Loan Forgiveness
• Federal Student Loan Repayment Program for Federal Employees
• Information for Military Personnel with Federal Student Loans
• Information for Military Personnel with Federal Student Loans (Spanish)
• Difficulty Making Your Federal Student Loan Payment
• Forms

Delinquent and Default Information

• Deferment and Forbearance
• Defaulted Federal Student Loan Information
• Forms

Resources and Forms

• Resources and Forms
• Ombudsman