The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), introduced in 2025 and scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026, proposes a fundamental overhaul of student loan repayment. The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is set to replace the SAVE plan with a simpler, threshold-based model.
The shift from discretionary-income formulas to a flat-rate threshold model left millions of borrowers without a clear way to estimate their new payments. Official portals require full login access just to see a projection. We created RAPCalc 2026 to provide a free, no-login calculator based on the latest OBBBA draft — including proper handling of the $22,000 single / $44,000 married exempt threshold and the 2%–5%–10% rate brackets.
Our formula follows the "sliding threshold" approach outlined in the OBBBA draft: (AGI − Exempt Threshold) × Applicable Rate ÷ 12. Filing status matters — married filers see doubled thresholds and bracket ceilings. The SAVE plan comparison uses 225% of the annually published Federal Poverty Level ($33,885 single / $45,990 married for 2026). While we are an independent entity and not a government agency, we cross-reference all parameters against the latest publicly available legislative text.
RAP treats filing status as a first-class input. For single filers, the exempt threshold is $22,000 and the 2% bracket extends to $50k AGI. For married filing jointly (MFJ), the threshold doubles to $44,000 and all bracket ceilings scale by 2× ($100k, $200k). This ensures married households are not penalized for combined income — a key design goal of the OBBBA.