Education Dept Tweaks Income-Based Loan Form Again
Published Date: 7/8/2026
Notice
Summary
The Department of Education is updating the form used to apply for Income Driven Repayment plans on federal student loans. This affects borrowers with William D. Ford Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loans who want to lower their monthly payments based on income. Comments on the changes are open until August 7, 2026, and the update aims to make the process clearer and easier without adding extra costs.
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
Statutory Changes Affect Direct Loans
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) made statutory changes that affect borrower eligibility, terms, and rights for Direct Loans received on or after July 1, 2026. These statutory changes were signed into law on July 4, 2025 and are cited as impacting loans with that July 1, 2026 receipt date.
PAYE and ICR Plans Sunsetting by 2028
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act requires that the remaining income-contingent plans Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) be sunset by July 1, 2028. The form includes notice to borrowers that PAYE and ICR will be sunset on that date.
IDR Form Updated for Borrowers
The Department of Education is revising the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Request Form used to enroll, recertify, or change plans for William D. Ford Direct Loans and FFEL Program loans. The update is intended to make the process clearer and easier for borrowers and is described as not adding extra costs; public comments are due by August 7, 2026.
SAVE Plan Invalidated March 10, 2026
A court action effective March 10, 2026 invalidated the SAVE Plan (formerly REPAYE). Borrowers who were enrolled in or relying on the SAVE Plan were affected by that court action as of that date.
Repayment Assistance Plan Added to Form
The updated IDR Request Form adds the Repayment Assistance Plan as an option for borrowers to select and explains its terms. This gives borrowers the ability to indicate interest in the Repayment Assistance Plan when enrolling or recertifying.
Family-Size Questions Revised for Dependents
The form revises questions about family size to accurately collect a borrower's number of dependents, which is a component unique to the Repayment Assistance Plan. This change is intended to ensure the form gathers the correct dependent count for plan eligibility calculations.
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Key Dates
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