Student loan repayment plans are changing. Here are key dates, things to know
Changes are coming to the student loan repayment system, with several key dates for new and current borrowers to remember.
President Donald Trump signed his into law earlier this month, which introduced several changes to the student loan repayment system. At the same time, the SAVE plan — introduced by President Joe Biden in 2023 — has been held up in courts.
The next upcoming change occurs to borrowers on the SAVE, or Saving on a Valuable Education, plan. On July 9, the announced the accrual of interest on loans under the SAVE plan would resume on Aug. 1.
Here’s the timeline of what’s happened and what to expect:
Aug. 1: Loans under SAVE to resume interest accrual
Loans under the plan have been placed into forbearance and a 0% interest rate since July 2024, the first time an appeals court blocked the implementation of the SAVE plan.
The ruling doesn’t mention interest explicitly, but borrowers on the SAVE plan were notified last week about interest restarting.
About 7.8 million borrowers are on the SAVE plan, adding up to almost $440 billion in debt. This accounts for more than a third of the country’s student loan debt. SAVE is an income-driven repayment plan that lowered the monthly payments of many, sometimes to $0.
Borrowers under SAVE may make payments toward their interest without switching plans, but cannot pay toward principal and are not considered to be in repayment. For borrowers working toward forgiveness, time spent on SAVE does not count toward time needed.
July 1, 2026: New repayment plans, caps on graduate loans begin
President Trump’s tax bill introduced two new payment plans — a revised standard plan and an income-driven plan. These plans will become available July 1 of next year and become the repayment options for a loan disbursed starting that date.
Here's what those plans look like:
The new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) cancels loans after 30 years of payments. Base payments are calculated as a percentage of adjusted gross income depending on income. The base rate is divided by 12 with $50 subtracted for each dependent to calculate the monthly payments. The minimum monthly payment is $10.
In addition to the plan changes, the new law introduced caps on direct unsubsidized loans taken out. The total lifetime maximum allowed per student for all loans, excluding the parent PLUS loan, is $257,500.
Graduate and professional students are also capped at a lifetime maximum of $100,000 and $200,000, respectively. The law also gets rid of direct PLUS loans for graduate and professional students, which helps cover the remaining costs after financial aid.
July 1, 2028: Current borrower deadline to choose a new plan, if necessary
The passing of the One Big Beautiful Act also sunsets income-contingent repayment plans, consequently getting rid of the SAVE, REPAYE AND PAYE.
Borrowers with loans disbursed before July 1, 2026 who are on the ICR, SAVE, PAYE and REPAYE plans must switch plans by July 1, 2028 or will be automatically enrolled in the new RAP plan.
Current borrowers will retain access to the current standard, graduated and extended plans in addition to one of two remaining income-based repayment plans under the condition of not taking out any more student loans.