The full RAP payment table
The annual base payment is a percentage of your total adjusted gross income (AGI) — the whole thing, not just the part above a threshold. Monthly payment = the annual amount ÷ 12, minus the dependent reduction, never below $10/month. Source: Federal Student Aid's RAP information center, cross-confirmed by the Congressional Research Service summary of the statute.
| Total AGI | Base annual payment | Worked example (before dependent reduction) |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | Flat $120/year | $10/month regardless of AGI |
| More than $10,000, up to $20,000 | 1% of AGI | AGI $15,000 → $12.50/month |
| More than $20,000, up to $30,000 | 2% of AGI | AGI $25,000 → $41.67/month |
| More than $30,000, up to $40,000 | 3% of AGI | AGI $35,000 → $87.50/month |
| More than $40,000, up to $50,000 | 4% of AGI | AGI $45,000 → $150/month |
| More than $50,000, up to $60,000 | 5% of AGI | AGI $55,000 → $229.17/month |
| More than $60,000, up to $70,000 | 6% of AGI | AGI $65,000 → $325/month |
| More than $70,000, up to $80,000 | 7% of AGI | AGI $75,000 → $437.50/month |
| More than $80,000, up to $90,000 | 8% of AGI | AGI $85,000 → $566.67/month |
| More than $90,000, up to $100,000 | 9% of AGI | AGI $95,000 → $712.50/month |
| More than $100,000 | 10% of AGI | AGI $120,000 → $1,000/month |
Boundary fine print: the brackets read "more than X, up to and including Y." An AGI of exactly $100,000 lands in the 9% bracket ($750/month); $100,001 lands in the 10% bracket ($833/month). Most summaries get this wrong.
Why one extra dollar of income can cost $80 a month
RAP's percentages are a cliff, not marginal tax-style brackets: crossing a boundary re-prices your entire AGI, not just the dollars above the line. Going from $100,000 to $100,001 of AGI moves the base payment from $750 to $833.34 a month — about $1,000 more per year, from one dollar of income. If your AGI sits just above a boundary, the comparison on the homepage flags it in your watch-outs with the exact dollar impact. Whether your AGI can move (retirement contributions, filing choices) is a tax question — one worth taking to a tax professional, because this tool doesn't give tax advice.
How does the $50-per-dependent reduction work?
By statute, the monthly payment is reduced by $50 for each dependent you claim on your federal tax return — children, most commonly; a spouse is never a tax dependent. One honest caveat: official tools have been observed quoting RAP payments without applying this reduction. Until that's resolved, when you enter dependents in the calculator, this site shows your payment both ways — with the statutory credit and without it — so no version of the number surprises you.
What's the minimum RAP payment?
$10 a month. There is no $0 payment under RAP — even at very low or zero income, the plan bills $10, and those months count toward forgiveness.
What else is in the fine print?
- Your balance never grows. In any month you make the full on-time payment, unpaid interest is waived rather than added to your balance.
- Principal match: if a full payment reduces principal by less than $50, the government adds a matching principal payment (up to $50/month), so even minimum payers make real progress.
- Forgiveness after 30 years (360 qualifying payments). Under current law the forgiven amount may be treated as taxable income — see the 2026 forgiveness-tax guide.
- PSLF: RAP payments qualify. Months in deferment or forbearance while enrolled in RAP do not.
- Eligibility: Direct Loans for your own education, including Grad PLUS. Parent PLUS loans — and consolidations containing them — are excluded.
- Married borrowers: filing jointly, the brackets price your combined AGI; filing separately, only your own income and your own claimed dependents count.
How these mechanics stack up against the surviving legacy plan is covered in RAP vs IBR; the rest of the post-SAVE menu is in the SAVE options guide. If you're currently on SAVE, you're also choosing against a 90-day deadline — what happens if you don't pick a plan in time.