The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan is a federal loan repayment plan that falls under the umbrella of income-driven repayment (IDR).
If you’re considered a “new borrower” as of 2014, the monthly payment amount for IBR is based on 10% of your discretionary income, and the remainder of your loans can be forgiven after 20 years of making payments. The monthly payment amount is capped at what it would be under a 10-year Standard plan.
If you’re an older borrower from before 2014, the monthly payment amount for IBR is based on 15% of your discretionary income, and the remainder of your loans can be forgiven after 25 years of making payments. The monthly payment amount is also capped at what it would be under a 10-year Standard plan.
To be eligible for IBR, your monthly payment on IBR needs to be lower than it would be under the 10-year Standard plan. This is sometimes called the “partial financial hardship” requirement.
As of July 2025, the partial financial hardship requirement has been eliminated, which has made the IBR plan more widely accessible. Any Direct Loans or Direct Consolidation Loans disbursed by June 30, 2026, can maintain access to the IBR plan, PSLF, or IDR Forgiveness.
Borrowers can switch from SAVE, PAYE, or ICR to IBR to pursue IDR forgiveness. Borrowers who switch will have their past payments count toward their forgiveness timeline. While borrowers can receive forgiveness under the IBR plan, processing has been paused while FSA updates its systems to accurately count months not affected by the SAVE court injunction.