Repayment Options

  •   Important Announcement

    On July 18, 2024, a federal court issued a stay preventing the Department from operating the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The Department of Education is assessing the ruling and will be in touch directly with borrowers about how this will affect them.  In the meantime, you can visit StudentAid.gov/saveaction for the latest information.

My Situation

MOHELA offers a variety of options to manage the repayment of your loans including repayment plans and ways to lower your payment or provide temporary relief. To explore options that are available based on situations you may be facing visit My Situation.


Repayment Plans

Several repayment plans are available to help manage your student loan account. Each repayment plan has distinct requirements which may result in paying less interest over time or offer greater benefits such as loan forgiveness. If your circumstances don’t fit the repayment plans listed below, we encourage you to call us at 888.866.4352 to discuss other alternatives.

Plans based on the length of time in repayment:

  • Standard (Level) Repayment

  • Extended Repayment

  • Graduated Repayment


Plans driven by income:

  • Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE)

  • Pay As You Earn (PAYE)

  • Income-Based Repayment (IBR)

  • Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)

  • Income-Sensitive Repayment


There is a lot to know about income-driven repayment plans (IDR) and it is important that borrowers renew their IDR plan on time each year to avoid potential consequences.


Estimate Your Payments

Repayment Plan Evaluator

Compare repayment plans and choose the right one to fit your needs (login required).

Repayment Estimator

Log in to StudentAid.gov to base estimates off of loans retrieved from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) or enter your loan information manually.

Repayment Amortization

You can estimate your payments with various interest rates and loan terms using this calculator and view a repayment amortization schedule.


Change Repayment Plans

For Income-driven repayment plans:

Apply on StudentAid.gov to automatically retrieve last year’s income tax information from the IRS. Sign in using your Federal Student Aid ID and then select “Apply for Income-Driven Repayment.” Follow the instructions to submit your application online. You can create a FSA ID before completing the application.

If you are past due or missed your annual recertification, please contact us for assistance.

For changes to other repayment plans:

Our Customer Service Representatives can assist you with requests for changes to other repayment plans, some of which may be changed by calling 888.866.4352.


Repayment Plan Summary

Plans Loan Programs Loan Term Eligibility Payments Advantages Helpful Information
STANDARD REPAYMENT Direct Loans & FFELP 10 Years (up to 30 years if consolidated) You will be placed on this plan if you do not select another plan Fixed monthly payments This is the fastest and least expensive plan based on interest paid This will be the plan you are placed on if you do not select another plan
GRADUATED REPAYMENT Direct Loans & FFELP 10 Years (up to 30 years if consolidated) Upon request Payments start low, increase every 2 Years Works well if you expect your income to increase over time Increasing monthly payment amounts over time

The amount due each month must cover your interest
EXTENDED REPAYMENT Direct Loans & FFELP Up to 25 Years Must have more than $30,000 in FFELP or Direct Loans Fixed or graduated payments Lower monthly payments over a longer time frame You will generally pay more interest on this plan due to the longer repayment term
INCOME-BASED REPAYMENT (IBR) Direct Loans & FFELP1 25 Years (20 years for new borrowers as of 7/1/2014), any remaining balance may be forgiven Must demonstrate need based on your total federal student loan debt, adjusted gross income and family size

Your calculated payment must be less than what you would pay under the Standard (10-year) Repayment plan
Monthly payment generally set at 15% of discretionary income (10% for new borrowers as of 7/1/2014) A reduced monthly payment amount. If you no longer qualify for a reduced monthly payment, your monthly payment will cap at the 10-year payment

Interest subsidy may apply

May also be used with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Annual recertification of income and family size

More information about Income Based repayment plans
PAY AS YOU EARN REPAYMENT (PAYE) Direct Loans only1 20 Years, any remaining balance may be forgiven As of July 1, 2024, borrowers that leave the PAYE Plan will not be allowed to re-enroll in the PAYE Plan.

Must demonstrate need based on your total federal student loan debt, adjusted gross income and family size

Your calculated payment must be less than what you would pay under the Standard (10-year) Repayment plan
Monthly payment generally set at 10% of discretionary income A reduced monthly payment amount. If you no longer qualify for a reduced monthly payment, your monthly payment will cap at the 10-year payment

May also be used with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Annual recertification of income and family size

More information about Pay As You Earn repayment plans
SAVING ON A VALUABLE EDUCATION (SAVE) Direct Loans only1 20 years (undergraduate loans), 25 years (graduate or professional loans), any remaining balance may be forgiven. Based on your adjusted gross income, family size and total federal student loan debt Monthly payment generally set at 10% of discretionary income. A reduced monthly payment amount.

Interest subsidy may apply

May also be used with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Annual recertification of income and family size

More information about Revised Pay As You Earn repayment plans
INCOME-CONTINGENT REPAYMENT (ICR) Direct Loans only1 25 Years, any remaining balance may be forgiven As of July 1, 2024, borrowers that leave the ICR Plan will not be allowed to re-enroll, unless they have a Direct Consolidation Loan disbursed on or after July 1, 2006, which repaid a Direct Parent PLUS or a Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Parent PLUS loan.

Based on your adjusted gross income, family size and total federal student loan debt
Monthly payments set at the lesser of 20% of discretionary income or a percentage (based on income) of payment on a Standard Plan with a 12-year repayment period Interest subsidy may apply

May also be used with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
Annual recertification of income and family size

More information about Income contingent repayment plans
INCOME-SENSITIVE REPAYMENT FFELP only 5 Years, then returns to Standard or Graduated Based on your gross monthly income Lowers payments for 12 months at a time Payments are affordable based on your gross monthly income Annual recertification of gross monthly income

1 Additional eligibility requirements may apply.

Parent PLUS Loans do not qualify for IDR Plans. Borrowers with Parent PLUS loans may consolidate and request ICR.

If your consolidation loan was disbursed on or prior to 7/1/2006 and the consolidation loan includes Parent PLUS loans, your consolidation loan may not be eligible for IDR Plans.

FFELP loans owned by the Department of Education are eligible for the Income Sensitive Repayment plan.