Student loan calculator: payment, total interest and payoff date on the federal standard, tiered or extended plan or a custom term, with extra payments.
By AdminDrafted with AI writing toolsUpdated Checked examples: 8
$35,000.00 at 6.52% on the 10-year standard plan costs $397.77 a month and $12,732.90 of interest; the last payment falls in November 2036.
| No. | Date | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday, 12 December 2026 | $397.77 | $207.61 | $190.17 | $34,792.39 |
| 2 | Tuesday, 12 January 2027 | $397.77 | $208.74 | $189.04 | $34,583.66 |
| 3 | Friday, 12 February 2027 | $397.77 | $209.87 | $187.90 | $34,373.79 |
| 4 | Friday, 12 March 2027 | $397.77 | $211.01 | $186.76 | $34,162.78 |
| 5 | Monday, 12 April 2027 | $397.77 | $212.16 | $185.62 | $33,950.62 |
| 6 | Wednesday, 12 May 2027 | $397.77 | $213.31 | $184.47 | $33,737.31 |
| 7 | Saturday, 12 June 2027 | $397.77 | $214.47 | $183.31 | $33,522.84 |
| 8 | Monday, 12 July 2027 | $397.77 | $215.63 | $182.14 | $33,307.21 |
| 9 | Thursday, 12 August 2027 | $397.77 | $216.81 | $180.97 | $33,090.41 |
| 10 | Sunday, 12 September 2027 | $397.77 | $217.98 | $179.79 | $32,872.42 |
| 11 | Tuesday, 12 October 2027 | $397.77 | $219.17 | $178.61 | $32,653.26 |
| 12 | Friday, 12 November 2027 | $397.77 | $220.36 | $177.42 | $32,432.90 |
All payments minus the balance: 120 payments, the last in November 2036.
The payment is the fixed amount that repays the balance over the plan's term: M = B × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1), where B is the balance, r the annual rate ÷ 12 and n the number of months. Federal fixed plans set n: 10 years on the standard plan, 25 on the extended plan, and 10 to 25 years by balance on the tiered standard plan for borrowers with a loan made on or after July 1, 2026. Payments are at least $50 a month.
With the defaults, 35,000 at the 2026–27 undergraduate rate of 6.52% costs 397.77 a month on the 10-year standard plan, with 12,732.90 of interest. The tiered standard plan gives the same balance 15 years: 305.27 a month but 19,949.05 of interest. Adding 100 a month to the 10-year plan ends it 31 months early and saves 3,516.78.
Income-driven plans (the Repayment Assistance Plan and IBR) are left out because their payments depend on income and family size; Federal Student Aid's Loan Simulator covers them.
Fixed-payment plans use M = B × r × (1 + r)ⁿ ÷ ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1), where B is the balance, r the annual rate ÷ 12 and n the months in the plan. Over 10 years, 35,000 at 6.52% costs 397.77 a month and 12,732.90 of interest.
Direct Loans charge simple daily interest on the unpaid principal, as Federal Student Aid explains. A servicer's figures can therefore differ by small amounts from this monthly calculation.
The fixed plans and their terms come from 34 CFR 685.208, as amended on May 1, 2026, and Public Law 119-21:
Tiered terms by balance: under 25,000, 10 years; 25,000 to under 50,000, 15 years; 50,000 to under 100,000, 20 years; 100,000 or more, 25 years.
Each plan requires a payment of at least 50 a month. A borrower with any federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026 can choose only the tiered standard plan or the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan.
Older Direct Consolidation Loans can have different terms based on total student debt, and eligibility depends on your loan history. Your servicer or studentaid.gov confirms which plans you can actually use.
The same 35,000 at 6.52% on both plans; "Default" is the 10-year standard plan:
| Plan scenario | Term (years) | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | 10 | 397.77 | 12732.90 |
| Tiered 15 years | 15 | 305.27 | 19949.05 |
The 15-year term lowers the payment by 92.50 a month and adds 7,216.15 of interest, because the balance stays outstanding five years longer.
For loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, Federal Student Aid lists fixed rates of 6.52% for undergraduate loans, 8.07% for graduate and professional loans and 9.07% for PLUS loans.
Each loan keeps its rate for life, so loans from earlier years carry their own rates. Check each one on your servicer's statement.
Enter the total balance and the balance-weighted rate. For 20,000 at 6.52% and 15,000 at 8.07%, the weighted rate is (20,000 × 6.52 + 15,000 × 8.07) ÷ 35,000 = 7.1843%.
On a 10-year plan, one 35,000 loan at that rate costs 409.71 a month; the two loans paid separately cost 227.30 + 182.55 = 409.85. The shortcut is close but not exact.
Federal Direct Loans carry no prepayment penalty (34 CFR 685.211). Adding 100 a month to 35,000 at 6.52% on the 10-year plan ends the loan after 89 payments instead of 120 and saves 3,516.78 of interest.
An extra amount of at least one full payment counts as paying ahead, which delays your next due date unless you tell the servicer otherwise. To get the savings, keep paying every month.
On 3,000 at 5%, the 10-year formula gives 31.82 a month, below the federal minimum. Paying 50 instead ends the loan after 70 payments, with 459.39 of interest.
Private and refinanced loans follow the lender's term, so model them with a custom term in whole months: 7.5 years is 90 payments, with no federal minimum.
Refinancing federal loans into a private loan replaces the federal plans and protections with the lender's terms.
For a general loan schedule with other payment frequencies, use the amortization schedule calculator; to compare one loan against several debts, the debt consolidation calculator.
Checked against: Annuity formula at 6.52%/12 over 120 months; interest = 120 × payment − 35,000
Checked against: payment from the annuity formula
Checked against: from the annuity formula
Checked against: from the annuity formula
This page models a ten-year fixed-payment standard schedule, with a $50 monthly minimum and a possibly smaller final payment. The applicable plan depends on loan type and history under 34 CFR 685.208. Older Direct Consolidation Loans can have balance-dependent standard terms that differ from ten years; this preset does not model all those schedules. The 35,000-at-6.52% example is a monthly mathematical comparison, not a determination of the borrower's eligible federal plan.
Borrowers with a federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026 get a term set by their total Direct Loan balance when repayment starts: under 25,000, 10 years; 25,000 to under 50,000, 15 years; 50,000 to under 100,000, 20 years; 100,000 or more, 25 years (Public Law 119-21, 34 CFR 685.208(c)). A 60,000 balance at 8.07% gets 20 years: 504.48 a month and 61,075.46 of interest.
Borrowers with more than 30,000 in Direct Loans and no federal loan made on or after July 1, 2026 can stretch repayment to 25 years with fixed or graduated payments (34 CFR 685.208(b)(4)). It lowers the payment but nearly triples the interest: 45,000 at 8.07% costs 349.41 a month and 59,821.98 of interest over 25 years, against 547.64 and 20,716.81 over 10 years.
6.52% for undergraduate Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, 8.07% for graduate and professional Unsubsidized Loans and 9.07% for PLUS Loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 (Federal Student Aid). Each is the 4.468% high yield of the May 12, 2026 10-year Treasury auction plus a margin of 2.05, 3.60 or 4.60 points, rounded to two decimals, and stays fixed for the life of the loan (20 U.S.C. 1087e(b)(8)).
Yes, with no penalty: a borrower may prepay all or part of a Direct Loan at any time (34 CFR 685.211(a)(2)). On 35,000 at 6.52% over 10 years, 100 extra a month saves 3,516.78 and 31 months; 200 extra saves 5,490.71 and 49 months. An extra amount of at least one full payment counts as paying ahead and delays your next due date unless you tell the servicer otherwise.
For planning only. Lenders, tax authorities and markets apply their own rounding, fees and rules; confirm figures with them before you commit.
This calculator includes 8 worked examples with independently sourced answers. They run in the test suite, and you can run them here too.