Student Loan Rehabilitation Calculator
Screen whether this calculator fits your defaulted federal loans, compare the available formula estimates, and prepare an income-and-expense worksheet if the formula amount is unaffordable. No identifying information is collected or saved.
Screen rehabilitation access, estimate a Direct or FFEL rehabilitation payment, and prepare an income-and-expense worksheet.
Rules reviewed July 19, 2026. Scheduled rehabilitation-floor changes use today's date. Poverty-guideline values must be reviewed each January.
Assumptions and limitations
- Direct Loan results display each modeled eligible IDR choice separately. They do not automatically select a rehabilitation payment.
- FFEL uses 15% of annual AGI above 150% of the poverty guideline, divided by 12, with a $5 floor.
- The Direct rehabilitation floor is $5 through June 30, 2027 and $10 beginning July 1, 2027. RAP independently has a $10 payment floor.
- The worksheet's 15%-of-positive-surplus figure is a planning benchmark, not an official payment. The holder may limit expenses, request proof, and issue a different written amount.
- This calculator cannot decide fact-intensive eligibility, verify loan history, or replace the loan holder's written rehabilitation agreement.
How Rehabilitation Works
Rehabilitation is one way to remove a federal student loan from default. A borrower generally signs a written agreement and makes nine qualifying monthly payments within ten consecutive months. Completing rehabilitation removes the default status, but it does not erase the debt, accumulated interest, or every consequence of the default.
Direct and FFEL loans do not now use one universal “quasi-IBR” calculation. Direct Loan rules allow a borrower-selected eligible income-driven amount, while FFEL retains the traditional 15%-of-discretionary-income formula.
The Alternative Income-and-Expense Review
When the formula amount is unaffordable, the holder may review current household income and necessary monthly expenses. The worksheet above mirrors the principal categories used in the federal process and includes contributing-spouse income and other expenses such as an active garnishment.
The displayed 15%-of-positive-surplus amount is a planning benchmark based on secondary guidance, not a binding federal formula. A holder may request documentation, cap an expense at a reasonable level, exclude an expense, or send a different written amount. Do not begin payments until the holder provides and you understand the written rehabilitation agreement.
Sources, Currency, and Privacy
Current as of July 19, 2026. The calculation uses the Direct Loan regulation, the FFEL regulation, the RISE final rule, and the 2026 HHS Poverty Guidelines. The Federal Student Aid rehabilitation overview remains useful operational guidance, but its payment description and linked form have not yet caught up with the July 2026 Direct Loan regulation. The previously posted income-and-expense PDF expired June 30, 2026, so this page does not present it as a current form.
The calculator asks only for calculation inputs. It does not ask for a name, Social Security number, account number, email address, or documents. Entered financial values are not stored in browser storage, sent to LoanBrain or a CRM, or included in analytics.
Student Loan Rehabilitation FAQs
A rehabilitation agreement generally requires nine voluntary, reasonable, and affordable monthly payments within ten consecutive months. The loan holder determines whether the payments and timing satisfy the agreement.
Current Direct Loan rules permit the borrower to select an eligible income-driven repayment amount for rehabilitation, subject to the rehabilitation minimum. This calculator shows modeled IBR and RAP amounts separately when the loan history supports those choices.
The FFEL formula generally uses 15% of adjusted gross income above 150% of the poverty guideline for family size and region, divided by 12, with a $5 monthly floor.
You may ask the holder to consider a reasonable and affordable payment based on documented monthly income and necessary expenses. The worksheet on this page organizes those numbers, but the holder decides the official written amount.
No. Its 15%-of-positive-surplus figure is a planning benchmark only. The holder may apply reasonableness limits, reject or adjust expenses, request documents, and calculate a different amount.
Those loans need separate handling. Parent PLUS is not eligible for an IDR plan, and Perkins rehabilitation is administered by the school or holder. This calculator screens them for review instead of inventing a payment.
No. Fresh Start was a separate temporary default-exit initiative. A completed rehabilitation can affect whether another rehabilitation is available, so confirm the loan's actual history.
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