Training runway tool
Loans and PSLF across a medical career
Standard 10-Year, the Repayment Assistance Plan, and Income-Based Repayment modeled against federal rules verified in July 2026, with PSLF separated from taxable income-driven forgiveness and every plan name sitting next to a formula we can actually derive.
Which plans exist right now
Rules verified 2026-07-24The SAVE plan ended by court order on 2026-03-10 and is not modeled. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and the Tiered Standard plan opened 2026-07-01 under P.L. 119-21. Income-Based Repayment (IBR) remains available to existing borrowers. Borrowers with loans made before 2026-07-01 who are on a phased-out plan have until 2028-07-01 to choose RAP, Tiered Standard, or IBR.
A federal plan name is shown only next to a calculation that implements that plan's published formula. Plans whose parameters cannot be verified from a primary source are listed under unmodeled_plans and are described without payment figures.
Confirm any figure with the official Federal Student Aid Loan SimulatorYour federal loans
Federal loans only. Private loans have no income-driven plan or forgiveness path and are out of scope here.
Residency plus fellowship still ahead of you.
Requires full-time employment by a qualifying nonprofit or government employer for all 120 qualifying payments.
Decides which IBR terms apply to you: 15% over 300 payments rather than 10% over 240.
Modeled repayment paths
Each plan name below sits next to a calculation that implements that plan's published formula.
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) has the lowest modeled total cost at $271,922, counting borrower payments plus estimated federal tax on any forgiven balance.
See every modeled plan side by side, with the tax on forgiveness.
Unlock the plan-by-plan comparison: training and attending payments, total paid, forgiven balance, estimated federal tax on that balance, and the formula and verification date behind each figure.
Tax treatment of forgiveness
Federal treatment verified 2026-07-24.
PSLF
PSLF discharge is excluded from federal gross income.
Income-driven forgiveness
The broader federal exclusion for discharged student loan debt enacted by the American Rescue Plan Act applied only through 2025-12-31 and was not extended. Income-driven forgiveness received in 2026 or later is generally treated as taxable federal income and reported on Form 1099-C, unless a separate exclusion applies (PSLF, death or total and permanent disability, bankruptcy, or insolvency).
State tax
State treatment of forgiven balances varies and some states do not conform to the federal rules. This model does not estimate state tax on forgiveness. Confirm with a tax professional in the state where you will file in the forgiveness year.
Plans we do not put a number on
These are real, but we will not print a payment we cannot derive from a primary source.
Tiered Standard
The plan offers fixed terms of 10, 15, 20, or 25 years assigned by total outstanding balance, but the exact balance thresholds that map to each term were not verifiable from a primary source at the verification date. Publishing a payment figure would attach a federal plan name to a formula we cannot confirm.
The plan is described, and borrowers are directed to the official Loan Simulator for a payment figure.
Official pageSAVE
endedThe plan was ended by court order and is closed. No SAVE payment, forgiveness horizon, or interest-subsidy figure is produced anywhere in the product.
Official pagePAYE and ICR
phasing outBoth plans are being phased out under P.L. 119-21 and are not available for new enrollment on the same terms. Borrowers with pre-2026 loans have until 2028-07-01 to move to RAP, Tiered Standard, or IBR.
Official pageExtended fixed repayment
not modeledEligibility depends on loan balance and disbursement history that this model does not collect, and the plan is superseded for most new borrowers by Tiered Standard. The prior version of this tool showed an Extended 25-Year payment for every borrower regardless of eligibility.
Official page
Every figure here is a modeled estimate for educational use, not a servicer calculation and not tax advice. Your servicer's figure and the official Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator are authoritative; this model is not. Payments are modeled with income held flat within each stage, no capitalization events, and no state tax on forgiveness. Federal repayment rules changed in 2026 and can change again.
Common questions
Which repayment plans exist right now?
The landscape changed in 2026. A court order ended the SAVE plan on March 10, 2026, and two options opened on July 1, 2026 under P.L. 119-21: the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which is income-driven, and a Tiered Standard plan with fixed terms set by balance. Income-Based Repayment remains available to existing borrowers. Borrowers with loans made before July 1, 2026 who sit on a phased-out plan have until July 1, 2028 to choose between RAP, Tiered Standard, and IBR.
Which plans does this tool actually calculate?
The Standard 10-Year plan, RAP, Income-Based Repayment in whichever variant applies to you, and PSLF layered on the income-driven plan with the lower training-year payment. Tiered Standard is described but deliberately not calculated: its balance-to-term thresholds were not verifiable from a primary source at the verification date, and printing a payment under a federal plan name we cannot derive would be worse than printing nothing. For that plan, use the official Loan Simulator.
What is the RAP formula?
The monthly payment is a sliding share of adjusted gross income: 1 percent above $10,000, rising one percentage point per additional $10,000 of AGI, capped at 10 percent above $100,000, with a $10 floor. Fifty dollars comes off per dependent. Unpaid monthly interest is waived on an on-time payment, and the Department adds up to $50 of principal matching in months when your own payment does not reduce principal by $50. Discharge comes after 360 qualifying payments.
Does residency count toward PSLF?
Yes, provided you are directly employed by a qualifying 501(c)(3) or government employer, which covers the large majority of residency and fellowship programs. Each monthly payment made under a qualifying plan while so employed counts toward the 120 required payments, and employment has to be certified rather than assumed.
Do I need an income-driven plan for PSLF?
In practice yes. The Standard 10-Year plan retires the loan in exactly 120 payments, leaving nothing to forgive. An income-driven plan is what leaves a balance at the 120-payment mark.
Is forgiveness taxed?
PSLF discharge is excluded from federal gross income. Income-driven forgiveness is different: the broader exclusion enacted by the American Rescue Plan Act applied only through December 31, 2025 and was not extended, so an income-driven balance forgiven in 2026 or later is generally taxable federal income reported on Form 1099-C unless a separate exclusion applies. The tool prices that tax explicitly rather than showing forgiveness as free. State treatment varies and is not modeled; confirm it with a tax professional in the state where you will file in the forgiveness year.
Is this my servicer's number?
No. These are educational estimates from figures you enter, with income held flat within each stage and no capitalization events modeled. Your servicer's figure and the official Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator are authoritative.