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We want you to be able to make decisions about your student loans with confidence. We offer objective, independent, straightforward guidance on student loans and refinancing lenders. While our site doesn't answer every question or have every lender, we are proud to provide the information and tools you need — free of charge — to make the best decisions for yourself. So how do we make money? We get paid in two ways. First, you can hire us to develop a student loan strategy for you and implement that strategy on your behalf. Second, our partners compensate us. This may influence which refinancing lenders we write about, but it doesn't affect our recommendations or advice. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.Quick Facts
You can lower your monthly payments by updating your income, adjusting your family size, submitting paystubs, or filing taxes separately.
Loan servicers won’t report late payments to credit bureaus until you’re 90 days overdue, so you have time to act without damaging your credit.
A Graduated or Extended plan can lower your payment, but months paid below the 10-year Standard amount don’t count toward income-driven forgiveness, and refinancing with a private lender gives up federal benefits like loan forgiveness.
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Advertiser Disclosure
You're our top priority.
We want you to be able to make decisions about your student loans with confidence. We offer objective, independent, straightforward guidance on student loans and refinancing lenders. While our site doesn't answer every question or have every lender, we are proud to provide the information and tools you need — free of charge — to make the best decisions for yourself. So how do we make money? We get paid in two ways. First, you can hire us to develop a student loan strategy for you and implement that strategy on your behalf. Second, our partners compensate us. This may influence which refinancing lenders we write about, but it doesn't affect our recommendations or advice. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.Overview
If your Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan feels too expensive, it might be because of outdated income details and incorrect family size that affect how your payment was calculated or problems caused by your loan servicer handling your account.
Here’s how to fix it:
Update your income with accurate paystubs to match your current finances.
Adjust your family size to include everyone you support financially.
Compare your other income-driven options — Income-Based Repayment or the Repayment Assistance Plan, depending on when your loans were made
Request a review of information from your loan servicer.
Don’t feel stuck with high payments just because your servicer calculated them that way. Take control by reviewing these areas and reaching out for adjustments.
Interested in understanding your monthly payments? See our IBR Payment Charts for a breakdown by income and family size.
Why Are Your Payments So High?
If your Income-Driven Repayment plan payments, like those under IBR, feel unreasonably high, there’s likely a reason. These are the common issues making your payment seem unaffordable:
1. Your Income Is Based on Old Tax Returns
Using tax returns through studentaid.gov is quick and easy since it automatically pulls your Adjusted Gross Income (total income minus certain deductions) from the IRS.
But here’s the issue: Tax returns are historical documents. They reflect what you earned last year, not what you’re earning today.
This can be problematic if:
You earn bonuses: Your tax return may include last year’s bonuses, even if they’re not guaranteed this year.
Your income varies: If you rely on commissions or intermittent pay, your tax return might reflect a strong year that doesn’t match your current situation. For example, if you work in sales, real estate, or a commission-based role, your income can vary with months of little or no earnings while waiting for deals or bonuses.
What you can do: Instead of relying on outdated tax information, submit paystubs or other documentation that reflects your current income. This can help recalibrate your payment to match your actual financial situation better.
2. Your Family Size or Filing Status Isn’t Correct
Family size is another common source of confusion. Borrowers often assume family size is tied to who they claim as dependents on their tax return—but that’s not the case.
For IDR calculations, family size includes anyone who lives with you and depends on you for more than 50% of their support. This can include:
A partner or roommate you financially support (e.g., you pay more than half their rent, utilities, food, etc.).
Children who live with you, even if they’re not claimed as dependents on your tax return.
Elderly family members or other relatives who rely on you for care and expenses.
Failing to account for your full family size can result in a higher payment, as smaller households are assumed to have more discretionary income or the money you have left after covering basic living expenses.
What you can do: Log into your servicer’s website or studentaid.gov and update your family size to reflect anyone you financially support—even if they’re not listed as dependents on your taxes.
3. You’re on a Less Generous Plan
Not all IDR plans are created equal. Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) can take up to 20% of your discretionary income, more than any other income-driven plan. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, once the cheapest option, ended in March 2026 after a federal court struck it down, so it is no longer available.
For example:
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): Uses 1% to 10% of your total adjusted gross income. It is the only income-driven plan for Direct Loans made on or after July 1, 2026, and borrowers with older Direct Loans can choose it too. Parent PLUS loans, including consolidation loans that repaid them, can’t use RAP.
IBR and PAYE plan: Use 10-15% of discretionary income, depending on when you borrowed.
If you’re on ICR, your payment might be higher than it would be under IBR or RAP, if you qualify for them.
What you can do: Use the Loan Simulator from the Federal Student Aid to compare plans. If you’re eligible for a lower-cost plan, request to switch.
4. Your Discretionary Income Feels Unrealistic
IDR payments are calculated as a percentage of your discretionary income, defined as your income above a certain threshold (e.g., 150% of the federal poverty guideline for IBR and PAYE, 100% for ICR). The Repayment Assistance Plan is the exception: it uses a percentage of your whole adjusted gross income. This works on paper but doesn’t account for real-world costs like rent, childcare, or medical bills.
This disconnect can make payments feel far higher than they should be, especially in high-cost-of-living areas or for borrowers with significant monthly obligations.
What you can do: If your payment doesn’t feel manageable, explore recalculation options or compare every plan you qualify for in the Loan Simulator, since the cheapest plan depends on your income and family size.
5. Errors or Miscommunication by Your Loan Servicer
Loan servicers occasionally miscalculate payments or fail to update your information accurately, leading to errors that inflate your payment.
What you can do: Review your payment history and calculation details on your servicer’s website. If something seems off, contact your servicer to request a review or escalate the issue with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group.
How to Lower Your IDR Payment
If you’ve double-checked everything—your income documentation, family size, and repayment plan—and your monthly payment is still too high, there are a few other options to consider before deciding your next steps:
1. Review Your Tax Filing Status
If you filed your taxes jointly with your spouse, their income is likely being factored into your payment calculation. This can significantly increase your monthly student loan payments.
One option is to file your taxes separately and recalculate your payment using only your income — instead of your and your spouse’s income.
Alternatively, you can submit paystubs instead of relying on your tax return, which may better reflect your current financial situation. Recalculating early could reduce your monthly payment amount.
2. Explore Deferment or Forbearance
If your student loan payments are entirely unaffordable in the short term, you can request a deferment or forbearance.
Deferment: May be available if you’re experiencing unemployment, economic hardship, or other qualifying situations. Interest may or may not accrue depending on your federal loans.
Forbearance: Temporarily pauses payments, but interest keeps accruing. On most federal loans, that interest isn’t added to your principal when the forbearance ends; on FFEL loans the Department of Education doesn’t manage, it is.
These options can provide breathing room if you’re facing a financial emergency, but they don’t help you move closer to forgiveness under your Income-Driven Repayment plan.
3. Consider Other Federal Repayment Plans
If IDR plans don’t work for your situation, switching to another type of federal repayment plan may help:
Extended Repayment Plan: Lowers monthly payments by stretching them out over 25 years.
Graduated Repayment Plan: Starts with smaller payments that increase every 2 years, which could help if you expect your income to grow.
Standard Repayment Plan: Fixed payments that pay off your loans in 10 years. It usually won’t lower an income-driven payment, but 10-year Standard payments still count toward income-driven forgiveness.
Each of these options comes with trade-offs. Leaving IBR adds any unpaid interest to your principal, and these plans subtract the time you’ve already spent in repayment from their term, so the new payment can be higher than you expect. Get a quote from your servicer before you switch. Extended and Graduated payments below the 10-year Standard amount don’t count toward income-driven forgiveness, and to claim forgiveness you’d have to return to an income-driven plan. If you’ve received a new federal Direct Loan, including a consolidation loan, on or after July 1, 2026, these older plans are closed for your Direct Loans.
4. Understand Why Settling or Filing Bankruptcy Isn’t Ideal
If you’re wondering about settling your loans or filing bankruptcy, here’s the reality:
Settlements: The Department of Education doesn’t typically accept settlements unless loans are in default, and even then, the terms are limited.
Bankruptcy: The Department of Justice has made it easier to discharge federal student loans, but you still have to prove undue hardship. This can be challenging if your Income-Based Repayment plan payment is too high, as the government already considers your payment “affordable” under their formula.
For most student loan borrowers struggling with high IDR payments, settlement, and bankruptcy aren’t realistic solutions.
5. Consider Refinancing as a Last Resort
Refinancing with a private lender could lower your monthly payment, but it’s only a good option if:
You have a high income relative to your loan balance.
You don’t need federal benefits like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), forbearance, or the ability to recertify income for IDR plans.
Each of these steps has pros and cons, but they can help you manage your payments in a way that fits your financial situation. If you’re unsure which option makes the most sense for you, talking it through with a student loan attorney can help.
What Happens If You Can’t Afford Your IDR Payment?
If you can’t afford your IDR payments, missing the first payment won’t immediately harm your credit—loan servicers won’t report late payments to the credit bureaus until you’re 90 days past due.
But, as soon as you miss payments in fewer than 270 days, your loans are considered delinquent, which could disqualify you from repayment benefits like loan forgiveness or IDR eligibility.
If the delinquency continues, your loans could enter default (over 270 days past due), leading to serious consequences like wage garnishment, tax refund offsets, and loss of access to federal repayment plans.
To prevent these outcomes, you can:
Request forbearance or deferment to temporarily pause payments. Keep in mind, though, that interest will continue to build up. After a forbearance, that interest is added to your principal only on FFEL loans the Department of Education doesn’t manage.
Recalculate your payment using updated income information, like paystubs, especially if you filed taxes jointly or your income has changed.
The key is to act before you’re 90 days late. Your loan servicer can discuss these options or you may explore switching to a student loan repayment plan with lower monthly payments, keeping in mind that a payment below your monthly interest can leave your balance growing even while you pay. Acting quickly can help you avoid default and stay on track.
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