Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Eligibility
What is your IDR Profile?
There are several different income-driven repayment (IDR) options for federal student loans. As the name implies, all the IDR options use your income to calculate your minimum monthly payment. You will either pay your balance to zero or reach a maximum repayment timeframe (20-30 years, depending on the plan), whereby any remaining balance is forgiven.
Over time, we have seen IDR plans added, updated, and soon-to-be phased out. More recently, we’ve also seen the courts get involved and block the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment option.
Expert Tip:
Resources to follow for updates on the SAVE litigation
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As of December 2025, three IDR plans remain; one is unavailable, and a new option is expected to be available by July 1, 2026.
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The Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan was created in 1994. All Direct Loans are eligible for ICR. It is also the only IDR plan (currently) available to Parent Plus loans. However, Parent Plus loans must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation loan to be eligible for ICR. Recent legislation will end ICR on July 1, 2028, for all borrowers.
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The Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan was added in 2009 and was available for any borrower with Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs). IBR was updated in 2010 for new borrowers who first received a Direct Loan after July 1, 2014, creating two mutually exclusive versions of IBR. Anyone who is not a new borrower as of July 1, 2014, is eligible for the original IBR (IBR 2009). New borrowers are eligible for the updated version of IBR (IBR 2014). Recent updates to IBR end eligibility for any borrower who receives a loan after July 1, 2026.
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Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) was added in 2012. It has the most complicated qualification requirements. To be eligible for PAYE, you must be a new borrower as of October 1, 2007, and receive at least one loan after October 1, 2011. Recent legislation will end PAYE on July 1, 2028, for all borrowers.
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Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) was an update to the Revised PAYE (REPAYE) plan. REPAYE was first available in 2015 for any Direct Loan borrower. SAVE began in October 2023, following the end of pandemic forbearance benefits. Anyone who was using REPAYE was automatically converted to SAVE. In July 2024, a federal appellate court blocked the SAVE plan. Anyone in SAVE was placed into a forbearance with no forgiveness credit earned since July 2024. No new applicants have been allowed into SAVE since it was blocked. Interest was paused during the forbearance until August 1, 2025. Most recently, a settlement agreement has been reached that will require borrowers in the SAVE forbearance to choose another repayment plan soon, likely before SAVE is formally ended on July 1, 2028.
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The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) was created by law in July 2025. It is not available yet, but is scheduled to be available by July 1, 2026. Any Direct Loan will be eligible for RAP. However, any borrower who receives a Direct Loan after July 1, 2026, will be limited to RAP as their only income-driven repayment option.
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Your IDR eligibility is determined by your loan types and borrowing history. With ambiguous criteria and changing rules, one of the most difficult aspects of federal student loan repayment is knowing which repayment options are available for your loans. The VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool attempts to clarify the confusion and provide a simplified description of your IDR eligibility via the IDR Profile.
Expert Tip:
The IDR Profile is a VIN Foundation creation
The Department of Education will not assign you an IDR Profile. VIN Foundation uses the IDR Profile to categorize the IDR options available for your specific loans after you upload your student aid file to the VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool. This helps when simulating and selecting your best available income-driven repayment option, as well as navigating confusion when applying for repayment options. While the VIN Foundation IDR algorithm is very good at identifying your IDR options, it’s not perfect. Those with Parent PLUS Loans and consolidated loans may experience errors in their IDR Profile.
The Department of Education system is also not perfect. We have seen numerous examples where borrowers have been allowed into repayment plans that they are not eligible for. We have also seen instances where borrowers are not allowed access to plans that they should be eligible for. If you’re receiving conflicting information on your IDR options, please reach out to studentdebt@vinfoundaiton.org for help.
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VIN Foundation IDR Profiles
There are six different income-driven repayment eligibility profiles:
- IDR Profile 1: Eligible for ICR, PAYE, SAVE, IBR 2014, and RAP (once available). This is the most flexible profile with the most beneficial available plans. Generally speaking, you must have graduated from veterinary school between 2018 and 2026 to be in this profile.
- IDR Profile 2: Eligible for ICR, IBR 2009, PAYE, SAVE, and RAP (once available). This profile is also known as The Pickle due to the future elimination of PAYE without another 20-year forgiveness plan. Generally speaking, you must have graduated from veterinary school between 2012 and 2026 to be in this profile.
- IDR Profile 3: Eligible for ICR, IBR 2009, SAVE, and RAP (once available). Generally speaking, anyone who graduated from veterinary school in 2012 or earlier would be in this IDR profile.
- IDR Profile 4: Eligible for IBR 2009 only. Generally speaking, anyone who graduated from veterinary school in 2010 or earlier could be in Profile 4.
- IDR Profile 5: Eligible for ICR only. Borrowers with only Parent PLUS loans that are consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan. ICR is the only eligible IDR plan currently available for Parent PLUS borrowers. Recent legislation would allow borrowers who consolidate their Parent PLUS loans before July 1, 2026, to use IBR as their remaining IDR option. Neither Parent PLUS loans nor consolidated Parent PLUS loans will be eligible for RAP.
- IDR Profile 6: Eligible for RAP only. Any borrower who receives a new federal Direct Loan after July 1, 2026, will only be limited to RAP for their income-driven repayment plan. Generally speaking, anyone who graduates from veterinary school in 2027 or later will be in this profile.
How do I know which IDR Profile I fall into?
The easiest way to find out which income-driven plan profile you’re in is to upload your federal student aid file into the VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool and review the Income-Driven Repayment Eligibility tab. You can watch a video tutorial on how to find your student aid file on the My Student Loans page. Your veterinary school graduation year can often serve as a guide, but check the Income-Driven Eligibility tab to be sure:
Source: VIN Foundation My Student Loans tool, Income-Driven Repayment Profile 2 example
Note: While not shown in the VIN Foundation Student Loan Repayment Simulator, everyone with Direct Loans is also eligible for the original ICR plan. There are only two groups who might benefit from ICR: 1) Parent PLUS loan holders who consolidate into a Direct Consolidation Loan before July 1, 2026; and 2) Borrowers with a low student debt-to-income ratio who are nearing the required number of payments to receive forgiveness. The closer you are to forgiveness, the more likely ICR will help you get there when your student debt balance is less than your income. ICR is scheduled to be eliminated on July 1, 2028.