Repayment plans
The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) for dental student loans
RAP sets your monthly federal loan payment as a share of your income, forgives what is left after 30 years, and keeps unpaid interest from piling up. This guide shows how it works at dental-school balances, from the grace period through your first years in practice.
Last updated October 7, 2026
Rules last reviewed September 2026 · How we calculate · Check StudentAid.gov
Up to 10%
of your adjusted gross income sets the payment
$50
off the monthly payment for each dependent
$10
is the lowest monthly payment
30 years
of payments, then any balance is forgiven
- Eligible borrowers
- Any Direct Loan borrower with an eligible loan type can choose RAP.
- Monthly payment
- A percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI), up to 10%, divided by 12.
- Reduced by $50 for each dependent on your federal tax return.
- Never less than $10 a month.
- Time frame
- Any balance left after 30 years (360 qualifying payments) is forgiven.
- Forgiven amounts may count as taxable income. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) can come sooner, after 10 years of qualifying payments.
- Eligible loans
- Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans.
- Direct PLUS Loans made to graduate or professional students (Grad PLUS).
- Direct Consolidation Loans that do not include a Parent PLUS Loan.
How to apply
The quickest way to ask for RAP is online at StudentAid.gov. Applications opened on July 1, 2026.
You will need your FSA ID and password. You also need to approve the release of your tax information from the IRS, which shows your income and dependents, or be ready to give other documents that show your income (and your spouse's, if you are married) and your dependents.
If you were on the SAVE Plan, which a court order ended on March 10, 2026, your servicer will notify you and you will have 90 days from the date of that notice to choose a new plan. RAP is one of the options. See our note on the SAVE switch for what to check first.
Eligibility
Any Direct Loan borrower with an eligible loan type may choose RAP. For dental students that usually means Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Direct PLUS Loans for graduate or professional students.
A Direct Consolidation Loan can use RAP only if it does not include a Parent PLUS Loan.
Private loans are not eligible. If you refinance federal loans with a private lender, you give up RAP, PSLF and the other federal protections, which is why refinancing is a decision to make slowly.
New federal borrowing for dental school is limited under the 2026 rules, so many students will hold private loans alongside federal ones. RAP applies only to the federal part.
Monthly payment calculation
- Find your AGI band in the table below and take that percentage of your whole AGI.
- Divide the result by 12 to get a monthly figure.
- Subtract $50 for each dependent on your federal tax return.
- If the answer is under $10, the payment is $10.
- Married filing jointly: your payment is based on your combined income, and it is reduced if your spouse also has federal student loans. This matters for dental couples where both partners are borrowing.
- Married filing separately: only your income and the dependents you claim are used.
- RAP has no payment cap, so the payment rises as your income does. At very high incomes that can be more than a capped income-driven plan would cost, which is why we compare the two side by side.
Payment percentage by income
The percentage applies to your entire AGI, not just the slice above a threshold, so crossing a $10,000 line raises the whole payment. The last column shows the monthly payment at the top of each band for a single borrower with no dependents.
| Adjusted gross income | Yearly base payment | Monthly payment at top of band |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | $120 flat | $10 |
| $10,001 to $20,000 | 1% of AGI | $17 |
| $20,001 to $30,000 | 2% of AGI | $50 |
| $30,001 to $40,000 | 3% of AGI | $100 |
| $40,001 to $50,000 | 4% of AGI | $167 |
| $50,001 to $60,000 | 5% of AGI | $250 |
| $60,001 to $70,000 | 6% of AGI | $350 |
| $70,001 to $80,000 | 7% of AGI | $467 |
| $80,001 to $90,000 | 8% of AGI | $600 |
| $90,001 to $100,000 | 9% of AGI | $750 |
| Over $100,000 | 10% of AGI | $1,250 at $150,000 |
The base payment is the yearly amount before the dependent reduction. It is not your final monthly payment.
Loan forgiveness
After 30 years, or 360 months, of qualifying payments, any remaining balance is forgiven. Federal tax rules may treat the forgiven amount as income in the year it is discharged, so plan for that.
If you work full time for a qualifying public-service employer, payments under RAP can also count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which forgives the balance after 120 qualifying payments, about 10 years. The plan changes your monthly payment, not the 120-payment count.
Most dentists in private practice will not reach forgiveness at a typical dentist's income, because the payment grows with income. Forgiveness matters most for dentists with low income compared with their debt, such as those in public service or part-time work.
Interest subsidy
On an income-based plan, a payment can be smaller than the interest your loans build up each month. Under RAP, if your payment is less than that month's interest, the unpaid interest left over is subsidized, so your balance does not grow while you keep paying on time.
This is useful in residency or a lower-paid first year. As an illustration, a $300,000 balance at 7.5% builds about $1,875 of interest a month. A $325 payment on a $65,000 income would leave about $1,550 of that month's interest unpaid, and that part is subsidized.
Matching principal payment
When a full, on-time payment would not cut your principal by at least $50, the federal government makes a matching principal payment. Your principal drops by at least what you paid, up to a maximum of $50 a month.
In the illustration above, the whole $1,875 of interest takes more than the $325 payment, so the match is what moves the principal down. A principal match of up to $50 a month is $600 a year, which is small against a dental balance but is a real change from a plan where the balance only grows.
What to expect in your grace period
The grace period is the time between graduation (or dropping below half-time enrollment) and the date your first payment is due. For most federal loans it lasts six months. It gives you time to take a licensing exam, start a residency or find a position.
- You do not have to make payments during the grace period.
- Interest can keep building on unsubsidized loans, which is the type most dental students hold. If you can afford it, even small payments during grace reduce the interest and lower the total cost of your loans.
- Use the grace period to choose your repayment plan. Compare RAP with the other plans you may qualify for, and apply before your first bill so your payment starts on the right plan.
- If you are going straight into a residency, ask your servicer before your first bill which options, such as deferment or an income-driven plan, apply to your loans.
- Auto pay: some servicers do not let you enroll online while your loans are not in active repayment. A common rule is that repayment must start within about 45 days, with a paper application sometimes accepted within 90 days. A larger auto pay interest reduction is available through June 30, 2028 for borrowers who enroll by December 31, 2026, so ask your servicer how to handle this if your repayment starts later.
RAP payments at dentist incomes
Single borrower, no dependents unless noted, using the table above. These are illustrations of the formula, not quotes. Your servicer sets your actual payment from your tax return.
| Where you might be | AGI | RAP rate | Monthly payment | With one child |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental resident | $65,000 | 6% | $325 | $275 |
| First year in practice | $120,000 | 10% | $1,000 | $950 |
| Associate dentist | $150,000 | 10% | $1,250 | $1,200 |
| Established practice | $250,000 | 10% | $2,083 | $2,033 |
Compare these with an income-based plan that caps your payment, and with refinancing, before you choose. Our planner runs the numbers with your own balance.
Payment estimate
The Repayment Calculator on StudentAid.gov estimates your RAP payment from your own loans and income.
Our dental loan planner does the same for dental-sized balances, and shows RAP next to other plans so you can see what each costs over time.
Common questions
- What is the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) for dental school loans?
- RAP is a federal income-driven repayment plan. Your monthly payment is a percentage of your adjusted gross income, from 1% to 10%, divided by 12, with $50 off per dependent and a $10 minimum. Unpaid interest is subsidized, the government adds a principal match of up to $50 a month, and any remaining balance is forgiven after 30 years.
- Can dental students use RAP?
- Yes, if your loans are eligible. Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans, Direct PLUS Loans for graduate or professional students, and Direct Consolidation Loans that do not include a Parent PLUS Loan can all use RAP. Private loans cannot.
- How much will my RAP payment be as a dentist?
- At an AGI over $100,000, the rate is 10%, so a $150,000 income gives about $1,250 a month before any dependent reduction. A resident earning $65,000 would pay about $325 a month. The payment rises with income because RAP has no cap.
- Do I have to pay during my grace period?
- No. You are not required to make payments during the grace period, which is about six months after you graduate or drop below half-time. Interest can still build on unsubsidized loans, so small payments, if you can afford them, lower the total cost.
- Does RAP count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness?
- Payments under RAP can count toward the 120 payments for PSLF if you work for a qualifying employer. Confirm your employer and payment count on StudentAid.gov.
- Is forgiven debt under RAP taxed?
- It may be treated as taxable income when it is forgiven after 30 years. PSLF forgiveness is not taxed at the federal level. Ask a tax professional about your situation.
- Should I choose RAP or IBR?
- It depends on when you borrowed, your income and how long you plan to repay. Compare both with your own numbers in the planner and read our RAP vs IBR guide.
Additional resources
How these numbers are calculated
Rules last reviewed September 2026. Every result is an estimate from the inputs you enter and the published federal rules below, not a quote and not advice for your situation. Confirm with your servicer and your school's financial aid office.
Assumptions
- Rules: the 2026 federal student loan changes (RAP, Tiered Standard, IBR for loans disbursed before 7/1/2026, and the professional-degree caps of $50,000 a year and $200,000 total).
- Income grows at the yearly raise you enter, and pre-tax items grow at the rate you enter. Nothing else about your income is predicted.
- Payments are monthly, held fixed for 12 months and recalculated from the prior year's income.
- Future rule changes, tax-bracket changes and the RAP spousal-loan offset for joint filers are not modeled.
- Costs in future years are shown in today's dollars where labeled, using the discount rate in the planner.
Official sources
What would change a result most: your future income, the interest rate on new loans, whether you qualify for federal loans, and any change to the federal rules after the date above.