The Repayment Assistance Plan, also known as RAP, is a newly introduced student loan repayment plan that stems from President Donald Trump’s legislation.
Scheduled for implementation on July 1, 2026, RAP will replace the existing income-driven repayment program. While some borrowers may experience lower monthly payments under RAP compared to current income-driven plans, they might also face a longer repayment period and higher overall costs.
Most federal student loan borrowers, including those with graduate school debt, will be eligible for RAP. However, parent PLUS loan borrowers will not qualify.
RAP at a glance:
Repayment term until forgiveness: 30 years.
Payment amounts: 1-10% of your annual adjusted gross income; percentage is based on earning level. $10 flat payments for those earning $10,000 per year or less.
Other qualifications: Must have federal direct or grad PLUS loans.
Best for: Borrowers with a large amount of debt relative to their income, who take out a loan on or after July 1, 2026. Those borrowers are ineligible for existing income-driven repayment plans.
Repayment Assistance Plan: timeline and options for borrowers
New and existing borrowers can enroll in RAP starting on July 1, 2026.
If you took out all of your student loans before July 1, 2026, you will have the following repayment options:
By July 1, 2028, the Education Department will discontinue the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE), Pay as You Earn (PAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans. IBR and RAP will be the only available income-driven options.
If you acquire a new student loan on or after July 1, 2026, all your loans, including older ones, will become ineligible for IBR, as well as the graduated and extended plans. (July 1, 2026 marks the first day to obtain a federal student loan for the 2026-27 academic year.)
Instead, you will have only two repayment options:
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Standard repayment plan, which is not linked to income.
This applies even if you have some older loans, as all loans must be repaid under the same plan. For instance:
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Suppose you commenced your undergraduate program in the 2024-2025 academic year and took out federal loans. Then, in the third academic year — 2026-2027 — you need additional borrowing. Now, it’s post the July 1, 2026 deadline. Therefore, both loans, including those from the 2026-2027 academic year, would not be eligible for IBR.
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Alternatively, if you completed your undergraduate studies in 2024 and already have federal loans, and then return to school in 2027 for additional federal loans, both the new loans and the undergraduate loans would be ineligible for IBR.
RAP timeline summary and action items
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July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028. |
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How to estimate your monthly Repayment Assistance Plan bill
RAP monthly payments are graduated based on your annual adjusted gross income (AGI) in the previous tax year. The more you earn, the larger the slice of your income you’ll pay each month toward your student loans.
Find your RAP base payment
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1% of adjusted gross income (AGI). |
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Once you determine your base payment, utilize this formula to calculate your monthly RAP bill: