How Long Will It Take to Pay Off My Student Loans?

Paying off student loans can take anywhere from five to 30 years, depending on the type of loans you have and your repayment plan. For federal loans, the standard repayment term is 10 years, but income-driven repayment and loan consolidation can extend this to 20, 25, or 30 years. 

Private loans are different; they usually come with fixed terms set by the lender, often five to 25 years. Keep reading because we’ll explore factors that affect repayment time, explain what can speed up or extend your timeline, and help you choose a repayment time frame that works for you.

How long will it take me to pay off my student loans? 

Repaying student loans can take several years, depending on whether you have federal or private loans. 

The federal government offers a variety of repayment plans with different guidelines governing each one. Private lenders set their own terms so the repayment timeline will vary from loan to loan. Let’s take a closer look at private and federal student loans to see how long they take to repay.

Do I have federal or private loans?

If you’re unsure which type of loans you have, visit the Federal Student Aid website and log in to your account. The dashboard displays the total amount of your federal loans and your loan servicer; click “view details” to see a list of all your federal loans. 

If you can’t remember your username or password for the Federal Student Aid website, you can easily reset those online. Another option is to call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243 for help.

To check for private student loans, get a copy of your credit report from any of the three major credit bureaus. The report will show the names of all your creditors and the last four digits of your account numbers. You can also contact your school; it should have a record of all loan disbursements.

Federal student loans 

The amount of time it takes to repay your federal student loans is determined by the type of repayment plan you’re on. Let’s take a look at each type and their typical repayment schedules. 

Standard repayment plan

The standard repayment plan offers fixed monthly payments over 10 years. This is the default repayment plan unless you enroll in an alternate plan.

Consolidated loans on the standard plan will take between 10 to 30 years to pay off, depending on how much you owe. Here’s how this breaks down:

• Less than $7,500 = 10 years to repay
• $7,500 – 9,999 = 12 years 
• $10,000 – 19,999 = 15 years 
• $20,000 – 39,999 = 20 years
• $40,000 – 59,999 = 25 years
• More than $60,000 = 30 years

Graduated repayment plan

The graduated repayment plan is best for borrowers who expect their income to increase over time. With this plan, you get 10 years to pay off your loans by making fixed payments that at least cover interest every month. This ensures interest won’t accumulate as it does in some plans.

Your monthly payment will increase every two years but will never be more than three times the amount of other payment plans. As your payments increase, you’ll gradually pay down the principal balance of the loan.

The graduated repayment plan is also available for consolidated loans. You get between 10 and 30 years to repay consolidated loans on the graduated plan; the repayment term depends on the total amount you owe and is determined by the same guidelines that govern the standard plan. 

Extended repayment plan

The extended repayment plan is available to borrowers with more than $30,000 in federal student loans. Repayment terms extend to 25 years, giving you more time to repay. Monthly payments are lower, but with longer repayment terms, you’ll pay more in interest. 

Income-driven repayment plans

As the name implies, the monthly payment on an income-driven repayment plan (IDR) is based on how much you earn. The repayment period for this type of plan is either 20 or 25 years, depending on which plan you’re on, when you first borrowed, and whether you have graduate loans. 

The four IDR plans are:

1. SAVE: The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan replaced REPAYE. It offers 20-year repayment if you only have undergraduate loans and 25-year repayment terms if you have graduate or professional loans. 
2. PAYE: Payments on the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan are calculated at 10% of your discretionary income and take 20 years to repay.
3. IBR: On the standard income-based repayment (IBR) plan, if you borrowed before July 1, 2014, payments are capped at 15% of discretionary income, and you have 25 years to repay. If you borrowed after that date, you’ll have 20 years to repay with payments at 10% of discretionary income.
4. ICR: Payments on the income-contingent repayment (ICR) plan occur over 25 years and are set at 20% of your discretionary income.

Tip

Pending litigation is limiting the IBR plans available. Anyone can apply for the standard IBR plan, but new enrollments are not allowed for the ICR or PAYE plans. You can apply for SAVE, but your loans are placed in forbearance until the case is resolved. A federal court has prevented the U.S. Department of Education from implementing parts of the SAVE Plan. Check here for the latest SAVE status.

To enroll in an income-driven repayment plan, you must apply and recertify every year by providing information about your family size and income. 

Private student loans

Most private lenders don’t offer a variety of repayment plan options. You may be able to find a lender that offers deferred payments or interest-only payments to make debt more manageable while you’re in school. 

Some lenders offer graduated repayment plans that increase payments as income grows, but don’t expect to find income-based payment plans like those from the federal government; few (if any) private lenders have that option. 

Each lender sets the repayment period on its private student loans. While many private lenders give you 10 years to repay, repayment terms can vary from five to 25 years. 

The type of repayment plan doesn’t affect how long it will take to repay your private student loans. Repayment terms are laid out in your loan agreement and won’t change unless you negotiate new repayment terms or refinance your loans.

What affects how long it takes to pay off your student loans? 

The time it takes to pay off student loans isn’t the same for everyone. Here are the primary factors that determine how long repayment will take. 

Repayment plan

The type of repayment plan you’re on has a considerable impact on how long it takes to pay off your student loans. 

For example, if you remain in the standard repayment plan for federal student loans, you’ll pay off your balance in 10 years. Enrolling in an extended repayment plan will lengthen that time frame, giving you up to 25 years to repay your loan.  

Loan amount

The amount you borrow affects how long it will take to repay the loan. Smaller loans accumulate less interest and offer smaller monthly payments, making them easier to repay quickly.

The larger your loan amount, the longer it usually takes to pay off. Large balances come with higher monthly interest charges, which slow down your payment progress. Plus, repayment terms must be longer on larger loan amounts to help make monthly payments manageable.  

Let’s look at an example to see how this works when two borrowers have different loan amounts but the same 5% interest rate and 10-year repayment plan.

• Anthony has a $10,000 loan with a monthly payment of $106. Over 10 years, he pays a total of $12,728, with $2,728 of that being interest.
• Brenda has a $50,000 loan with monthly payments of about $530. The total would be $63,639 over 10 years, and she would pay $13,639 in interest.

If Brenda can’t afford $530 a month, she might switch to a 20-year plan, which lowers the monthly payment to $330 but increases the total interest paid to $29,195. This change doubles the repayment period but also adds more than $15,000 in interest.

Income

Another factor that affects how long it takes to pay off your student loans is your income. This is due to a couple of reasons:

1. Repayment plan qualification: Your income determines which federal repayment plans you qualify for. If your income is low, you may qualify for an income-based repayment plan, which typically gives you more time—between 20 to 25 years instead of 10 years—to repay. 
2. Ability to pay: With a higher income, you’re likely in a better financial position to repay your loans. You might even be able to make extra payments to speed up repayment. 

Interest rates

The interest rate on your loan can affect how long it takes to repay. Higher rates increase the total amount you pay for the loan, which leads to higher monthly payments. If the monthly payment is too high, you may need to extend your terms in exchange for a more reasonable payment.

For example, if we return to the same terms above but a $40,000 loan, your monthly payment will be $424. However, if the interest rate increases from 10% to 12%, the same loan would require monthly payments of $574 to pay off in 10 years. 

If the $574 monthly payment is out of reach, you might consider switching to a different repayment plan or refinancing to get a longer term, making the payment more affordable. The same loan repaid over 20 years at a 12% rate would require a $440 monthly payment. 

By lengthening your repayment time frame, you’ll pay more in interest; the total interest would increase from $28,866 to $65,704 because of the switch from 10 to 20 years. 

What could shorten or lengthen my repayment term? 

Your repayment plan and loan terms may determine how long it takes to pay off your student loans, but you can take several steps to shorten or extend the time frame.

What can shorten your repayment term? 

If you want to pay off your student loans sooner, several ways to shorten your repayment term may include:

• Make larger payments: Paying more than the minimum amount every month will reduce your loan’s principal balance, reduce the total interest paid, and speed up repayment. 
• Refinance to a shorter term: You can shorten the repayment time frame by refinancing your student loans to a shorter repayment term (e.g., 10 years instead of 20 years), but your monthly payments will increase. 
• Make payments while in school: If you can swing it, making payments while in school can help you repay loans faster. In-school payments prevent interest from being added to the principal balance, reducing the amount owed when repayment begins and allowing you to repay the loan faster with less total interest.
• Apply windfalls to your loan: If you receive unexpected money—such as tax refunds, work bonuses, or cash gifts—and use it to pay down your loan balance, you can reduce the time it takes to repay the loan. 
• Increase payment frequency: Instead of making one payment every month, schedule a payment of half that amount every two weeks. This reduces the principal balance faster, lowers the total interest accrued, and shortens the overall repayment timeline.

What can lengthen your repayment term? 

You can also lengthen your repayment term if you need more time to pay. Here’s how:

• Choose an extended repayment plan: If you have more than $30,000 in federal student loans, you could opt for the extended repayment plan, which will increase your repayment term up to 25 years.
• Enroll in an income-driven repayment plan: The federal government offers a variety of IDR plans that stretch federal student loan payments out over 20 to 25 years.
• Consolidate loans: When you consolidate all your federal student loans into one, you can get new repayment terms from 10 to 30 years, depending on how much you owe.
• Refinance to a longer term: Those with private student loans can lengthen the repayment time frame by refinancing their loan to one with a longer term. But you’ll end up paying more in interest, especially if rates have gone up since you first borrowed.
• Defer payments: You can defer payments on federal student loans in certain circumstances, such as returning to school, facing financial difficulties, or undergoing cancer treatment. 
• Use forbearance: In case of financial hardship, the federal government allows you to stop making payments or pay a reduced amount through a forbearance. This can last up to 12 months and will extend your repayment window. 
• Private lenders don’t typically offer deferment and forbearance; you must contact your specific lender to see whether these options are available.

What’s the right repayment timeline for you?

The best repayment timeline isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Everyone’s situation is different; you just need to take time to evaluate your loans, budget, and financial goals before determining how long to repay. 

Here’s what you should consider:

• Loan balance and interest rates: List the balances and interest rates on all of your student loans. Larger balances with higher interest rates may require longer terms to keep monthly payments affordable, and smaller balances at lower rates will allow for shorter timelines. 
• Current financial situation: Assess your current financial situation. How much are you earning? What are your average monthly expenses? If you’re financially stable with a steady income, you may be able to shorten your repayment window by paying more per month. If not, you might need to extend the time frame to fit payments into your budget.
• Long-term goals: What are your financial goals? Are you more focused on saving for a house or paying off all debt? If saving for other goals is important, a longer term with lower payments can keep more cash available, while a shorter term helps you eliminate debt faster, freeing up money for future plans.

If you’d like help figuring out the right repayment timeline for you, check out our student loan payoff calculator. 

With this tool, you can plug in your current loan balance, interest rate, and term, and then compare how much you’ll pay by changing your repayment timeline. You can also check out strategies to help you pay off your student loans faster.