About StudentLoan.help

StudentLoan.help is an independent calculator and set of guides for people repaying federal student loans under the rules that took effect on July 1, 2026. It is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid or any loan servicer, and nobody here can change your loan, enroll you in a plan or see your account. Applying for a repayment plan, consolidation, rehabilitation or PSLF is free at StudentAid.gov or through your servicer.

Where the numbers come from

The calculator follows the text of the law that created the Repayment Assistance Plan and the Tiered Standard plan (Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025), the Department of Education’s regulations in 34 CFR Part 685, and what studentaid.gov publishes. Each guide links the exact source next to the claim it supports and says what date the rule applies from. How the calculator works lays out every formula and every assumption the calculator makes, so you can check it by hand.

When the rules change, the pages change, and the date at the top of a guide moves only when its substance did.

How the site is paid

It isn’t, yet. The site is free, has no ads and no paywall, and we don’t take payment from the lenders, planners, servicers or companies mentioned here. None of the outbound links pay us.

If you send a question through the form, it goes to the person who runs the site and nobody else. We don’t sell it, share it or pass it to a planner or lender. If the site ever starts earning money from referrals, this page will say so first, and no form will share what you send without asking you on the form.

Nobody can pay to change what the calculator says. It shows refinancing as a bad idea whenever your numbers point that way, including when you could qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and it never sends anyone to “student loan debt relief” companies that charge for paperwork you can file free.

Mistakes

If a number or a rule on this site is wrong, use the contact form (pick “Correction”) with the page and, if you have it, the source. Corrections are made on the page itself.

Who is behind it