Student Loan Payment Calculator
Planning your student loan repayment? This calculator helps you estimate your monthly payment based on your loan balance, interest rate, and repayment term. Understanding your monthly obligation is the first step to creating a manageable repayment plan. Whether you have federal or private student loans, enter your loan details below to see your estimated monthly payment, total amount paid over the life of the loan, and how much you'll pay in interest. Use this information to compare repayment strategies and consider refinancing options.
How This Calculation Works
This calculator uses the standard amortization formula to compute fixed monthly payments. The formula accounts for the principal balance, monthly interest rate, and total number of payments. Each monthly payment covers both interest and principal. Over time, a larger portion of each payment goes toward principal as the balance decreases.
Federal vs. Private Student Loans
Federal student loans are issued by the U.S. Department of Education and come with fixed interest rates set annually by Congress, along with built-in borrower protections such as deferment, forbearance, income-driven repayment, and forgiveness programs. Private student loans are issued by banks, credit unions, and online lenders, with rates and terms based on your (or your cosigner's) creditworthiness. Private loans can offer lower rates for well-qualified borrowers but lack the flexibility and safety nets that come with federal loans.
Most financial advisors recommend exhausting federal loan options — including subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loans — before turning to private financing, since federal loans generally offer more predictable costs and stronger protection against financial hardship.
Subsidized vs. Unsubsidized Loans
- Subsidized loans: Available to undergraduates with demonstrated financial need. The government pays the interest while you're in school at least half-time, during your six-month grace period, and during deferment periods.
- Unsubsidized loans: Available to undergraduate and graduate students regardless of financial need. Interest accrues from the day the loan is disbursed, and unpaid interest can capitalize onto your balance.
- PLUS loans: Available to graduate students and parents of dependent undergraduates, generally carrying the highest federal interest rate and an origination fee.
Repayment Plan Options
Federal borrowers can choose from several repayment structures, each trading off monthly affordability against total interest paid over the life of the loan.
Standard, Extended, and Graduated Plans
- Standard 10-year plan: Fixed monthly payments over 10 years. This plan produces the lowest total interest cost but the highest monthly payment.
- Extended plan: Stretches payments up to 25 years for borrowers with balances above $30,000, lowering the monthly payment but significantly increasing total interest paid.
- Graduated plan: Starts with lower payments that increase every two years, typically over 10 years, designed for borrowers expecting rising income early in their careers.
Income-Driven Repayment (SAVE, IBR, PAYE)
Income-driven repayment plans set your monthly payment based on your income and family size rather than your loan balance. The SAVE plan calculates payments as a percentage of discretionary income above 225% of the federal poverty line, with undergraduate payments generally set at 10% of discretionary income and some borrowers seeing $0 payments at lower incomes. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) generally caps payments at 10% or 15% of discretionary income depending on when you borrowed, while Pay As You Earn (PAYE) caps payments at 10% with a payment ceiling equal to the standard 10-year amount. Under all IDR plans, remaining balances are forgiven after 20 to 25 years, though forgiven amounts may be treated as taxable income depending on current law.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Capitalized Interest
Borrowers working full-time for government agencies or qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) after making 120 qualifying monthly payments, typically under an income-driven repayment plan. Unlike standard IDR forgiveness, amounts forgiven under PSLF are not taxed as income under current federal law. Certifying your employment annually with your loan servicer helps ensure your payments are tracked correctly.
Capitalized interest is one of the most overlooked costs in student loan repayment. When you exit deferment, forbearance, or switch repayment plans, any unpaid accrued interest can be added to your principal balance. From that point forward, you pay interest on the new, larger balance — effectively compounding your debt. Making even small interest-only payments during periods of non-payment can prevent capitalization and meaningfully reduce your long-term cost.
Refinancing Tradeoffs
Refinancing combines one or more loans into a new private loan, ideally at a lower interest rate. Borrowers with strong credit, stable income, and no need for federal protections can sometimes cut their interest rate by several percentage points, saving thousands over the loan's life. However, refinancing federal loans means permanently giving up access to income-driven repayment, deferment and forbearance options, and forgiveness programs like PSLF. Refinancing is generally best suited to high-rate private loans, or federal loans held by borrowers with secure employment who don't anticipate needing flexible payment options.
Sample Payoff Comparison by Balance
The table below illustrates approximate monthly payments and total interest at a 6% fixed rate over a standard 10-year term, compared to a 20-year extended term, for common loan balances.
| Balance | 10-Yr Payment | 10-Yr Total Interest | 20-Yr Payment | 20-Yr Total Interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $111 | $3,320 | $72 | $7,180 |
| $30,000 | $333 | $9,960 | $215 | $21,540 |
| $50,000 | $555 | $16,600 | $358 | $35,900 |
| $80,000 | $888 | $26,560 | $573 | $57,440 |
| $120,000 | $1,332 | $39,840 | $860 | $86,160 |
Extending your term to 20 years roughly cuts the monthly payment in half but more than doubles total interest paid, illustrating the tradeoff between short-term affordability and long-term cost.
The Student Loan Interest Deduction
Borrowers who paid interest on qualified student loans may deduct up to $2,500 per year on their federal tax return, even without itemizing deductions. The deduction phases out for higher earners based on modified adjusted gross income, with the phase-out range adjusted periodically for inflation. Your loan servicer will send Form 1098-E if you paid $600 or more in interest during the year, which you can use when filing to claim the deduction.