PSLF Buyback Calculator
Estimate what you might pay to buy back eligible PSLF months, then check whether the estimate appears actionable. Federal Student Aid makes the final eligibility and payment decision.
Calculator that estimates a PSLF buyback amount using adjacent IDR payments or borrower-supplied period amounts, then screens whether the selected months appear actionable.
Step 1 of 5
Months
What might these months cost?
Tell us how many months you want priced and which records you have. We will check eligibility after the estimate.
Use the number of specific deferment or forbearance months you want priced. We will check the path to 120 later.
Choose the short-gap method only when you have IDR payment amounts immediately before and after the same gap.
What PSLF Buyback Does
PSLF buyback is a narrow reconsideration remedy. It can convert certain otherwise non-counting deferment or forbearance months into qualifying PSLF months when you had qualifying full-time employment and paying for those months would complete the 120-month requirement.
The regulation requires an additional payment at least equal to what you would have paid at the time on a qualifying repayment plan. A month can also receive credit if you otherwise would have qualified for a $0 income-driven payment. The Department—not your servicer and not this calculator—decides whether the months qualify and what amount is due.
How the Estimate Works
Short IDR gap: Federal Student Aid guidance uses the lower IDR payment immediately before or after an eligible gap of fewer than 12 months. The calculator multiplies that monthly rate by the months you select.
Documentation-based case: If the gap is longer, the adjacent payments are missing, or the borrower was not on IDR around the gap, Federal Student Aid may request historical income and family-size information. This calculator totals payment amounts you already know or estimate by period; it does not rebuild every historical IDR rule.
That boundary is intentional. Historical payment reconstruction can depend on the year, plan eligibility, tax filing, spouse debt, family size, loan type, balance, and interest rate. A clean “more information needed” result is safer than false precision.
What to Gather Before Requesting Buyback
Start with your official PSLF count, loan-status history, and certified qualifying employment for every month you want reviewed. For a short gap, keep records of the IDR payments immediately before and after it. For a documentation-based calculation, be prepared for Federal Student Aid to request tax returns and family-size statements for the calendar years involved.
Follow the current Federal Student Aid PSLF Buyback instructions when submitting the reconsideration request. The controlling regulatory provision is 34 C.F.R. § 685.219(g)(6).
PSLF Buyback FAQs
PSLF buyback is part of the reconsideration process. It may let a borrower receive PSLF credit for certain otherwise non-counting deferment or forbearance months with qualifying employment by paying the amount that would have been due under a qualifying repayment plan. It is designed to complete the 120-month PSLF requirement, not to add speculative credit years early.
For an eligible gap under 12 months with IDR payments immediately before and after it, the calculator uses the lower adjacent monthly payment and multiplies it by the selected months. For other cases, it totals the monthly amounts you enter for each period. It does not recreate historical IDR eligibility or determine the official amount.
Yes. The regulation allows credit when the borrower otherwise would have qualified for a $0 payment on an income-driven repayment plan during the month. Enter $0 only when your records or the Department's calculation support it; this calculator does not independently determine historical $0 eligibility.
Not on the current Direct Consolidation Loan. Buyback months must occur after the first disbursement of the loan receiving the credit. Loans paid off by consolidation are no longer outstanding loans on which buyback credit can be applied.
No. This calculator is an estimate and screening tool. Federal Student Aid reviews the loan, employment, month status, payment history, and any requested income or family-size documents before issuing an official buyback agreement.
Articles
