TATE LAW / CALCULATORS
Mortgage Student Loan Payment Calculator
This mortgage student loan payment calculator shows the monthly payment FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and USDA lenders count from your student loans, and how it changes on IBR, RAP, deferment or a standard plan.
Once you're pre-approved, ask underwriting what student loan payment or debt-to-income ratio they need. Then choose the plan that documents it.
Your loansStatus, balance & payment
This picks which rule each program applies.
The mortgage rules are the same for every kind. This changes which repayment plans you can choose.
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Use the balance on your credit report or servicer account. Every program bases its placeholder on the balance.
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Enter $0 if your payment is $0, for example on IBR or in deferment. Leave it blank if you don't know it, and we'll leave that row out instead of guessing.
Fannie Mae treats a $0 payment differently depending on the plan.
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Ask underwriting after you're pre-approved. If you have the number, we'll show which options come in at or under it.
Your payment under each planIBR, RAP & standard
An entered payment always replaces an estimate. Leave a payment blank to have us estimate it, or to leave that row out.
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$0 is a real IBR payment. Leave it blank and add your income below to estimate it.
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RAP's minimum payment is $10. Leave it blank and add your income below to estimate it.
Used to estimate a standard-plan payment and Fannie Mae's fully amortizing alternative. Several loans? Use a balance-weighted average.
Only for Fannie Mae's fully amortizing payment under your documented terms. Leave it blank and we'll show 1% only.
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Replaces our estimate. Your servicer's figure controls.
A federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026 generally ends IBR for all your Direct Loans and moves the standard plan to Tiered Standard.
Income, to estimate IBR and RAPOptional
These use the same formulas as the IBR and RAP calculators. Estimate. Your lender counts the payment your servicer documents.
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Usually Form 1040, line 11. If you filed jointly, use the joint AGI.
Joint filing counts both spouses' income.
Include yourself; your spouse only if you file jointly; your children, including a child due this year, who get more than half their support from you; and others who live with you, get more than half their support from you, and will for the year. This can differ from your tax-dependent count.
RAP takes $50 a month off for each dependent you claim.
IBR protects more income in Alaska and Hawaii.
Which version you're on depends on your loan history before July 1, 2014. FFEL loans use old IBR.
Details your underwriter will ask aboutTiming & who pays
Freddie Mac counts the higher payment when a recertification is due before your first mortgage payment, unless the new payment is already approved.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can leave out a loan someone else has paid for 12 months. FHA, VA and USDA still count your own loan.
Loan by loanSeveral loans
Each program applies its rule loan by loan. If your loans are in different situations, enter them one at a time for an exact figure.
Sources & assumptions
Current as of October 4, 2026. Each program guide below was re-read at its source on that date.
- The calculator shows the monthly student loan payment each program's guide tells a lender to count. It doesn't calculate debt-to-income, approve a loan, or recommend a plan.
- A blank payment is left out, never treated as $0. FHA, Freddie Mac and USDA count a $0 payment as 0.5% of the balance, so a guessed $0 would invent a number.
- When a document or a date decides the amount, both values are shown and the document is named.
- IBR and RAP estimates use the same formulas as the IBR and RAP calculators on this site. Your lender counts the payment your servicer documents.
- Program rules apply loan by loan. With several loans in different situations, enter them one at a time.
- Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's treatment of a loan in default isn't modelled; ask your lender.
- Some lenders add their own requirements on top of each program's guide.
- HUD Handbook 4000.1, II.A.4.b.iv(H) and II.A.5.a.iv(G) (student loans); II.A.1.b (CAIVRS) — Update 18, issued August 12, 2026; read October 4, 2026
- VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4, Topic 5 (student loans) and Topic 6c (CAIVRS) — Updated Aug 26, 2026; read October 4, 2026
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05, Monthly Debt Obligations — Version 08/05/2026; read October 4, 2026
- Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide 5401.2 — Version effective 08/05/2026; read October 4, 2026
- USDA HB-1-3555, Chapter 11, ¶11.2 (student loans) and Chapter 10, ¶10.2 and Attachment 10-A (federal debt) — Chapter 11 rev. 11-25-25 (PN 651); Chapter 10 rev. 08-05-25 (PN 649); read October 4, 2026
- RISE final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 23768 (34 CFR 685.208–685.210) — Effective July 1, 2026
How Lenders Count Your Student Loan Payment
A mortgage lender adds a monthly student loan payment to your debts before it works out your debt-to-income ratio. Each program’s guide says which payment to use. When your credit report shows a payment above $0, every program starts from that figure. The programs part ways when the payment is $0, or when the loan is deferred or in forbearance.
FHA, Freddie Mac and USDA turn a $0 payment into 0.5% of the balance. Fannie Mae can count a documented $0 income-driven payment as $0, and uses 1% of the balance or a fully amortizing payment for a deferred loan. VA compares your payment to 5% of the balance divided by 12, and leaves out a loan deferred at least 12 months past closing.
Each program’s rule is explained in full in the FHA student loan guidelines, the VA student loan guidelines and the Freddie Mac student loan guidelines.
Each Program's Student Loan Payment Rule
FHA student loan payment calculation: the reported or documented payment when it’s above $0; otherwise 0.5% of the outstanding balance, whatever the loan’s status.
VA student loan calculation: not counted if deferred at least 12 months past closing with written proof; otherwise the payment, or 5% of the balance divided by 12 when the payment is at or below that and there’s no servicer statement dated within 60 days of closing.
Fannie Mae student loan payment calculation: the reported payment; a documented $0 on an income-driven plan; and for a deferred loan, 1% of the balance or a fully amortizing payment.
Freddie Mac student loan payment calculation: the reported payment when it’s above $0; otherwise 0.5% of the balance, with a higher figure when a recertification is due before the first mortgage payment.
USDA student loan calculation: the reported or documented payment when it’s above $0; otherwise 0.5% of the balance, whatever the loan’s status.
Ask Underwriting for the Number First
Once you’re pre-approved, ask underwriting what student loan payment or debt-to-income ratio they need. Enter that number as your target and the calculator marks each amount at or under it. It doesn’t rank the plans, because the right plan depends on more than the mortgage.
Changing plans is usually temporary and can usually be reversed, but not always for free. Months on RAP generally don’t count toward IBR forgiveness if you switch back. If you haven’t taken out a federal loan since July 1, 2026, you can generally move back to IBR later. A federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026, including a consolidation, generally ends IBR for all your Direct Loans.
Whatever plan you choose, the new payment has to show on your credit report or a servicer statement before underwriting. The guide to student loans and debt-to-income covers the rest of the ratio, and the guides to buying a house on IBR and buying a house with deferred student loans go deeper on each situation.
Student Loans in Default
A federal student loan in default blocks an FHA, VA or USDA loan until it’s resolved, so the calculator shows no payment for those programs. For a conventional loan, ask your lender how a defaulted loan is treated.
The usual ways out are consolidation and rehabilitation. Consolidation is usually faster once it disburses, but the new loan is limited to RAP or Tiered Standard and ends IBR. Rehabilitation takes nine payments over about ten months. If a wage garnishment order is in place, the Department’s position is that consolidation isn’t available until it’s lifted. The CAIVRS guide explains the federal debt check, and the wage garnishment calculator estimates what an order takes.
Sources and Limitations
Current as of October 4, 2026. The rules come from the HUD Handbook 4000.1 (Update 18), VA Pamphlet 26-7, Chapter 4 (updated Aug 26, 2026), the Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05 (08/05/2026), Freddie Mac Guide 5401.2 (version effective 08/05/2026) and USDA HB-1-3555, Chapter 11 (PN 651). Federal repayment-plan facts come from the RISE final rule.
The calculator doesn’t calculate debt-to-income, predict an approval, or account for a lender’s own overlays. IBR and RAP figures are estimates; your lender counts the payment your servicer documents. It provides general information, not legal or financial advice.
Mortgage Student Loan Payment Calculator FAQs
FHA counts the monthly payment on your credit report or a documented payment. If that payment is $0, including on IBR or in deferment or forbearance, the lender counts 0.5% of the outstanding balance. FHA applies this to every student loan, federal or private, whatever its status. A loan documented as forgiven, cancelled, discharged or paid off is left out. Counting a payment lower than your credit report shows needs written documentation from your servicer.
VA leaves out a student loan that will stay deferred at least 12 months past closing, with written proof from the servicer. Otherwise the lender compares your payment to a threshold of 5% of the balance divided by 12, which is $104.17 on a $25,000 balance. A payment above the threshold is counted. A payment at or below it can be used instead if your file holds a servicer statement of your actual terms dated within 60 days of closing. The VA handbook sets no minimum, though some lenders add their own.
Fannie Mae uses the payment on your credit report, or your latest student loan statement if the report is wrong. If the report shows $0, the loan's status decides. A loan on an income-driven plan can count at $0 with documentation of that payment. A loan in deferment or forbearance counts at 1% of the balance or a fully amortizing payment under your documented terms, and the lender may use either. Fannie Mae can also leave out a loan someone else has paid for the last 12 months.
Freddie Mac counts the payment on your credit report when it's above $0. If it's $0, whether the loan is in deferment, forbearance or an income-driven plan, the lender counts 0.5% of the balance: Freddie Mac always counts more than $0. If a recertification or payment change is due on or before your first mortgage payment, the lender counts the greater of your current payment or 0.5% of the balance, or the documented new payment if that's higher. A lower new payment counts only once you've recertified and it's approved and above $0.
USDA counts the payment on your credit report or a documented payment. If it's $0, whatever the loan's status, the lender counts 0.5% of the balance. A loan in your name still counts when someone else pays it, and a loan on a forgiveness plan counts until the creditor releases you. A loan you co-signed for someone else can be left out if the other borrower made the last 12 months of payments.
On some programs. Fannie Mae can count a documented $0 income-driven payment as $0. The VA handbook sets no minimum, so a $0 payment can be used with a servicer statement dated within 60 days of closing, though some lenders add their own minimum. FHA, Freddie Mac and USDA count 0.5% of the balance instead of $0.
It depends on the program and on what you give up. RAP's minimum payment is $10, so FHA, Freddie Mac and USDA count a RAP payment as it is instead of 0.5% of the balance, which can lower the counted amount on a large balance. But months on RAP generally don't count toward IBR forgiveness if you switch back, and RAP takes 360 payments to forgive what's left. If you haven't taken out a federal loan since July 1, 2026, you can generally move back to IBR later. The new payment also has to show on your credit report or a servicer statement before underwriting. Ask underwriting what number they need first.
No. FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and USDA apply the same student loan rule to private loans as to federal ones. What differs is the repayment menu: private loans have no IBR or RAP, so the calculator shows only the payment you have now and deferment or forbearance if your lender grants one.
For FHA, VA and USDA loans, yes, until it's resolved. FHA and USDA treat a borrower with delinquent federal debt as ineligible until the debt is resolved, and VA won't treat you as a satisfactory credit risk until the loan is current or you've made arrangements with the Department. The usual ways out of default are consolidation and rehabilitation. For a conventional loan, ask your lender how a defaulted loan is treated.
FHA leaves out a loan documented as forgiven, cancelled, discharged or paid off. Freddie Mac can leave out a loan in a forgiveness, cancellation or discharge program with 10 or fewer payments left, with evidence from the program. USDA counts a loan on a forgiveness plan until the creditor releases you. The calculator doesn't model these cases, so ask your lender.
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