An eligibility requirement for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay As You Earn plans.
For both plans, the amount that would be due under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan is calculated based on the greater of the amount owed on your eligible loans when you originally entered repayment, or the amount owed at the time you selected the IBR or Pay As You Earn plan.
Income-Based Repayment
For IBR, a circumstance in which the annual amount due on your eligible loans, as calculated under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, exceeds 15 percent of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size in the state where you live.
With Income-Based Repayment, you have a partial financial hardship when the annual amount due on all of your eligible loans or, if you are married and file a joint federal income tax return, the annual amount due on all of your eligible loans and your spouse’s eligible loans, exceeds 15 percent of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI), as shown on your most recently filed federal income tax return, and 150 percent of the annual poverty guideline amount for your family size and state of residence: Annual amount of payments due > 15% [AGI – (150% x applicable poverty guideline amount)].
Pay As You Earn
For Pay As You Earn, a circumstance in which the annual amount due on your eligible loans, as calculated under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, exceeds 10 percent of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size in the state where you live.
For Pay As You Earn, you have a partial financial hardship when the annual amount due on all of your eligible loans or, if you are married and file a joint federal income tax return, the annual amount due on all of your eligible loans and your spouse’s eligible loans, exceeds 10 percent of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI), as shown on your most recently filed federal income tax return, and 150 percent of the annual poverty guideline amount for your family size and state of residence: Annual amount of payments due > 10% [AGI – (150% x applicable poverty guideline amount)].
