The Ultimate Guide to IDR Applications: What Changed and What Didn’t

The United States Department of Education reopened the application for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans on March 26, 2025, after having suspended it in February. While applying for an IDR plan might be worth it for people with limited incomes or hefty loan balances, IDR might not be the right choice if you’ve nearly finished repaying your federal student loan debt or can afford the standard repayment plan.

The State of IDR Plans

While the Saving for a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan is listed as a repayment option on the FSA’s website, it’s not actually available. A U.S. appeals court blocked the plan, and it’s unlikely to be revived under the current administration. That said, you can still apply for the following income-driven repayment (IDR) options:

• Income-Based Repayment (IBR): Payments are based on 10% or 15% of your discretionary income and the repayment period is 20 or 25 years (depending on when you took out your loans).
• Pay as You Earn (PAYE): Payments are 10% of your discretionary income and repayment lasts 20 years.
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): Payments are 20% of your discretionary income and repayment lasts 25 years.

If you’re concerned about whether these plans will remain unchanged in the years to come, the IBR plan may be your best bet. Since it was established by Congress, any alterations would require Congressional approval.

The Potential Future of IDR Plans

While the SAVE plan is essentially dead, the other IDR plans may yet still change. Most notably, Congress has proposed replacing the existing IDR plans with something called the Repayment Assistance Plan.

Under this proposed plan, loan forgiveness would only be available after 30 years of qualifying monthly payments. With the Repayment Assistance Plan, monthly payments would be based on a borrower’s total adjusted gross income (AGI).

All current repayment options would be maintained for borrowers with loans disbursed before July 1, 2026, except for the ICR plan, which would be terminated. Borrowers enrolled in an ICR plan would be transferred into a revised version of the IBR plan.

Under the modified IBR plan, payments for loans disbursed after July 1, 2014, would be raised to 15% of the borrower’s discretionary income; the standard repayment cap and partial financial hardship requirement would both be eliminated, and the repayment term would now be based on whether you’re an undergraduate or graduate borrower.

Is It Worth Applying?

Whether or not you should apply for an IDR plan entirely depends on your personal financial situation and goals. For instance, a low-income borrower or someone who’s just lost their job could greatly benefit from the lower monthly payments.

On the other hand, an IDR plan might not make the best financial sense for someone with sufficient earnings and who can afford payments under the standard repayment plan. In this scenario, you’d risk paying more in interest on an IDR plan due to your higher discretionary income and the longer repayment term. It’s also probably not worth it if your student loan balance is low and you’re managing the repayments without issue.

If you think you’d benefit from applying for an IDR plan, keep in mind that your options might change if the proposed modifications to the current plans are rolled out. For instance, if you take out student loans on or after July 1, 2026, there may only be one IDR plan available to you. Meanwhile, if your loans were or would be disbursed before July 1, 2026, then you may not have access to the ICR plan in the future, and the terms of the IBR plan could different than they are now.

Since borrowers were unable to submit their recertification information while IDR applications were unavailable, the deadline for recertification has been extended to February 2026 (if your recertification date was originally on or after March 18, 2025, or if your recertification date was on or after March 17, 2025, you submitted your recertification form on or before Feb. 20, 2025; and your servicer failed to process your request).

The Bottom Line

Student loan repayment has never been more confusing, which is why it’s important to monitor your student loans and keep detailed records of your payments. Additionally, don’t hesitate to contact your loan servicer with any questions you have about IDR plans. You also can reach out to your school’s financial aid office for information about your loans and to discuss your repayment options.