If you were on SAVE, the plan name on your account is no longer the map. A court order ended the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan. Federal Student Aid servicers now point you to other repayment options, including a plan they call the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
This is a 2026 companion to the student-loan playbook, not a redo of every federal loan topic, and not a Public Service Loan Forgiveness guide. It is also not legal or tax advice. Re-check StudentAid.gov and the IRS before you enroll or file.
SAVE is gone
MOHELA, an official Federal Student Aid servicer, states that a court order ended SAVE on March 10, 2026. Aidvantage's borrower alert uses the same date and sends readers to StudentAid.gov/courtactions. On this run, that URL resolved to Federal Student Aid's live page titled "IDR Plan Court Actions: Impact on Borrowers."
If you were enrolled in SAVE or had a pending SAVE application, servicers say you need to choose a new plan after you are notified. MOHELA's SAVE FAQ: you receive a notice, then 90 days to switch. If you do not choose, borrowers on SAVE are placed on the Standard Repayment Plan or the new Tiered Standard Plan, depending on loan disbursement dates. You do not have to wait for the notice to apply. Once a new plan is processed, SAVE forbearance ends.
Use the Repayment Calculator on StudentAid.gov rather than guessing from a screenshot of last year's SAVE payment.
What FSA servicers currently list instead
RAP is live language on official servicer sites, not a rumor.
Aidvantage says two new federal plans are available now: the Tiered Standard Plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan. MOHELA says RAP and Tiered Standard are available effective July 1, 2026, and points to StudentAid.gov/bigupdates. On this run, that URL resolved to Federal Student Aid's live page titled "One Big Beautiful Bill Act Updates."
Edfinancial's current repayment-plan comparison describes RAP as:
- A percentage of adjusted gross income, up to 10%, reduced by $50 for each dependent on your federal tax return
- A monthly payment that may not be less than $10
- A 30-year term
- Remaining balance forgiven after the equivalent of 30 years of qualifying payments
- The only income-driven plan available if you have at least one loan first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026
- Direct Stafford, Direct Grad PLUS, and Direct Consolidation loans that did not repay Parent PLUS
MOHELA's repayment-plan page matches that shape: RAP is Direct Loans only, up to 30 years, payments based on income and household size, $10 minimum, with possible interest and principal subsidy.
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is still listed for borrowers whose loans qualify. Edfinancial: IBR forgiveness after 20 years of qualifying payments if you are a new borrower on or after July 1, 2014, or 25 years otherwise. MOHELA: payments generally 15% of discretionary income, or 10% for new borrowers as of July 1, 2014.
PAYE and ICR still appear on those comparison charts, with a hard limit. Edfinancial says they are available only if all your loans were first disbursed prior to July 1, 2026. MOHELA is also explicit that a new loan or consolidation on or after July 1, 2026 means all your Direct Loans are repaid under RAP or Tiered Standard.
Parent PLUS is outside RAP. Edfinancial and MOHELA both keep ICR as the income-driven path for certain Parent PLUS consolidation loans disbursed before July 1, 2026.
This draft does not reprint RAP's full AGI-bracket table. The dedicated RAP detail page did not return a complete fetch this run, so those percentages are not invented here. Use the calculator on StudentAid.gov.
Two unlabeled folders beside an envelope
IDR forgiveness and taxes in 2026
The American Rescue Plan's temporary tax exclusion covered qualifying student-loan discharges after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2026. IRS Topic 431 still lists that window as an exception.
That window is closed for a discharge that happens in 2026. The Taxpayer Advocate Service, in a March 2026 tax tip, says if your federal student loan balance is forgiven under an income-driven plan in 2026 or later, the amount is generally treated as cancellation-of-debt income. You may receive Form 1099-C the following January or February.
Not every discharge is taxed that way. Topic 431 still excepts certain profession-based cancellations, and discharges for death or total and permanent disability. The Advocate notes Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, and death or total and permanent disability as types that do not create that tax bill — this post is not a PSLF walkthrough. Insolvency can also change the result if you file Form 982. State tax treatment can differ.
If you are close to an IDR forgiveness date, read the IRS page and FSA notices for your discharge date. Timing of the discharge, not the year you first enrolled, is what Topic 431 uses.
Blank calendar, envelope, and pen
If student loans sit next to cards and BNPL
An IDR payment that looks small in isolation can crowd a week that already has a card minimum and two pay-later installments. That is a calendar problem, not a character problem.
If you also carry cards or buy now, pay later beside the student loan, put them in one tracker so the IDR amount is visible against the other dues. My Debt Coach is a free debt payoff planner: one list, a plan you can stick with, and a Payments calendar. Start at mydebtcoach.app/signup.
Log into StudentAid.gov, run the calculator, and apply for the plan the site currently offers you. Then put that payment on the same calendar as everything else so it cannot hide.