WILLIAM D. FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM
DIRECT CONSOLIDATION LOAN BORROWER’S RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT
Under the REPAYE Plan, if all of the loans you are repaying under the plan
were obtained for undergraduate study, any remaining loan amount will be
forgiven after you have made the equivalent of 20 years of qualifying
monthly payments over a period of at least 20 years. If any of the loans you
are repaying under the REPAYE Plan were obtained for graduate or
professional study, any remaining loan amount will be forgiven after you
have made the equivalent of 25 years of qualifying monthly payments over
a period of at least 25 years. You may have to pay federal income tax on the
loan amount that is forgiven.
Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE Plan)
Under the PAYE Plan, your monthly payment amount is generally 10% of
your discretionary income. Discretionary income for this plan is the
difference between your adjusted gross income and 150% of the poverty
guideline amount for your state of residence and family size, divided by 12.
If you are married and file a joint federal income tax return, the income
used to determine your PAYE Plan payment amount will be the combined
adjusted gross income of you and your spouse.
If you are married and file a separate federal income tax return from your
spouse, only your individual adjusted gross income will be used to
determine your PAYE Plan payment amount.
The PAYE Plan is available only to new borrowers. You are a new borrower
for the PAYE Plan if:
1. You had no outstanding balance on a Direct Loan or a FFEL Program
loan as of October 1, 2007, or you have no outstanding balance on a
Direct Loan or a FFEL Program loan when you obtain a new loan on or
after October 1, 2007, and
2. You receive a disbursement of a Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct
Unsubsidized Loan, or student Direct PLUS Loan (a Direct PLUS Loan
made to a graduate or professional student) on or after October 1,
2011, or you receive a Direct Consolidation Loan based on an
application received on or after October 1, 2011. However, you are
not considered to be a new borrower for the PAYE Plan if the Direct
Consolidation Loan you receive repays loans that would make you
ineligible under part 1 of this definition.
In addition to being a new borrower, to initially qualify for the PAYE Plan,
the monthly amount you would be required to pay under this plan, based
on your income and family size, must be less than the amount you would
have to pay under the Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment
period.
If you are married and file a joint federal income tax return, the loan
amount we use to determine whether you qualify for the PAYE Plan will
include your eligible loans and your spouse’s eligible loans.
If you are married and file a separate federal income tax return from your
spouse, the loan amount we use to determine whether you qualify for the
PAYE Plan will include only your eligible loans.
While you are repaying under the PAYE Plan, you must provide
documentation of your income and certify your family size each year so that
we may recalculate your payment amount. If your income increases to the
point that the amount you would have to pay under the PAYE Plan based on
your income is more than what you would have to pay under the Standard
Repayment Plan, you will remain on the PAYE Plan, but your monthly
payment will no longer be based on your income. Instead, your monthly
payment will be what you would be required to pay under the Standard
Repayment Plan.
Under the PAYE Plan, if your loan is not repaid in full after you have made
the equivalent of 20 years of qualifying monthly payments over a period of
at least 20 years, any remaining loan amount will be forgiven. You may have
to pay federal income tax on the loan amount that is forgiven.
Income-Based Repayment Plan (IBR Plan)
Under the IBR Plan, your monthly payment amount is generally 15% (10% if
you are a new borrower; see Note below) of your discretionary income.
Discretionary income for this plan is the difference between your adjusted
gross income and 150% of the poverty guideline amount for your state of
residence and family size, divided by 12.
If you are married and file a joint federal income tax return, the income
used to determine your IBR Plan payment amount will be the combined
adjusted gross income of you and your spouse.
If you are married and file a separate federal income tax return from your
spouse, only your individual adjusted gross income will be used to
determine your IBR Plan payment amount.
To initially qualify for the IBR Plan, the monthly amount you would be
required to pay under this plan, based on your income and family size, must
be less than the amount you would have to pay under the Standard
Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period.
If you are married and file a joint federal income tax return, the loan
amount we use to determine whether you qualify for the IBR Plan will
include your eligible loans and your spouse’s eligible loans.
If you are married and file a separate federal income tax return from your
spouse, the loan amount we use to determine whether you qualify for the
IBR Plan will include only your eligible loans.
While you are repaying under the IBR Plan, you must provide
documentation of your income and certify your family size each year so that
we may recalculate your payment amount. If your income increases to the
point that the amount you would have to pay under the IBR Plan based on
your income is more than what you would have to pay under the Standard
Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment period, you will remain on the
IBR Plan, but your monthly payment will no longer be based on your
income. Instead, your monthly payment will be what you would be required
to pay under the Standard Repayment Plan with a 10-year repayment
period.
Under the IBR Plan, if your loan is not repaid in full after you have made the
equivalent of 25 years (20 years if you are a new borrower) of qualifying
monthly payments over a period of at least 25 years (20 years if you are a
new borrower), any remaining loan amount will be forgiven. You may have
to pay federal income tax on the loan amount that is forgiven.
Note: You are a new borrower for the IBR Plan if you have no outstanding
balance on a Direct Loan or a FFEL Program loan on July 1, 2014, or if you
have no outstanding balance on a Direct Loan or a FFEL Program loan on the
date you obtain a Direct Loan after July 1, 2014. Your servicer will determine
whether you are a new borrower based on the information about your
loans in the U.S. Department of Education’s National Student Loan Data
System.
Additional repayment plan information
If you can show to our satisfaction that the terms and conditions of the
repayment plans described above are not adequate to meet your
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