Why You Shouldn’t Advance Your Due Date on Student Loans

If you’re ready to start tackling your student debt with extra payments, it’s essential to make sure that money gets applied to the principal of your loan. However, your lender may not make this straightforward, automatically advancing your due date instead. 

At first, advancing your due date might sound like exactly what you want to do with your overpayments. 

However, we’ll explain why you should not advance your due date. If you’re confused about how to move forward, keep reading for more information about why advancing your due date may do more harm than good.

What does “do not advance due date” on student loans mean?

You may see “do not advance due date” as an option when you make an additional payment with the intention of paying down your loan faster. If you choose this option, you’re specifying you want to apply the extra payment right to the principal.

Not selecting that option means your lender will apply your extra payment to late fees and accrued interest, and then toward future payments (including interest)—but not to the principal balance. 

It’s important to be aware of how lenders handle these extra payments because yours may not apply the funds with your best interest in mind. 

Advance due date on student loans

If you pay ahead, lenders often put the money toward the next month’s payment. Your extra payment is used for outstanding fees or accrued interest before the lender applies it to your principal. 

This will advance your due date equivalent to the months of minimum payments you’ve covered with your overpayment. 

For example, say your minimum monthly payment is $200. This month, you want to make an extra payment of $100. Your minimum payment due for next month would then be $100. 

Monthly payment	$200
Overpayment	$100
Next payment due	$100
Why?	Advancing due date reduces amount of next payment

If you made an extra $400 payment on top of your minimum, you might choose to advance your due date by two months. Then you wouldn’t need to make your minimum payments for two months since you paid them early.

Do not advance due date on student loans

If you choose the “do not advance due date” option, your lender will apply your extra payment to the principal. 

For example, if your minimum monthly payment is $200, making an extra payment of $400 and selecting not to advance the due date would reduce the principal balance on your loan by $400. You’re still responsible for paying your $200 minimum the following month. 

Monthly payment	$200
Overpayment	$400
Next payment due	$200
Why?	“Do not advance due date” reduces outstanding principal

This is also the case if you made an extra payment of $100. By electing to not advance the due date on your student loans, your lender applies the money to your principal balance, and next month’s minimum payment is still $200. 

Why should I choose “do not advance due date” on student loans?

When you reduce your principal balance, less interest accrues each month. By not advancing the due date on your student loans, you can pay off your loan faster and pay less in interest.

Many lenders won’t do this by default, to ensure your extra payments go toward your principal, communicate with your loan servicer.

It might be as simple as checking a box that says “do not advance due date.” Other times, you may need to send documentation to your lender to specify how you want it to apply overpayments to your loan. 

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Tip

You can use this debt payoff strategy whether you have federal or private student loans.

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To see how paying down your principal can impact your finances, let’s say you have a $20,000 loan at 4% interest and a 10-year repayment period.

Your minimum monthly payment would be around $200. By making an extra principal payment of $100 per month and choosing the “do not advance due date” option, you’ll save over $1,600 and pay off your loan four years sooner:

	Current	New	Savings
Repayment period	10 years	6 years	Reduce payment period by 4 years
Interest payments	$4,299	$2,655	$1,642
Total cost	$24,299	$22,655	$1,642

To better understand why we recommend selecting “do not advance due date,” use our student loan prepayment calculator to find out just how much you could save.

Should I advance my due date just to be safe?

If you can afford it, choosing not to advance your due date is the better option.

Using your extra payments to advance your due date may seem attractive because it can give you a break from minimum monthly payments, but it’s usually not the wisest financial choice. 

That’s because advancing your due date doesn’t actually save you money. It just means you pay the same amount sooner. Even if you advance your due date by one month or more, the following will still be true:

• Interest will continue to accrue in the months you make additional payments. 
• Your repayment period won’t get any shorter.
• The total amount you owe won’t decrease.

In cases where you have additional funds to put toward your debt, you should prioritize reducing your principal balance above everything else. This will allow you to save money in interest over the life of the loan and reduce or eliminate your debt burden more quickly.

Does it ever make sense to advance your due date on student loans?

We don’t recommend it in most situations, and advancing your due date shouldn’t be a long-term debt strategy. But in a few select cases, advancing your loan due date can work as a short-term solution:

When	Why
You’re struggling financially and have a windfall	Can provide peace of mind or free up budget
You’re changing jobs	Paychecks might be delayed
You have a financial or personal emergency	Could help avoid falling behind on payments

If you’re facing economic certainty (or expect to soon), it may make sense to advance your due date instead of applying additional payments to your principal.

Those payments will be due anyway, so making them while you’re able can protect your credit should funds get tight. Still, it’s wise to weigh your options.

Talk to your loan servicer about lowering your student loan payments or check your eligibility for federal student loan repayment plans. Before you spend hundreds on advanced payments, see if one of these strategies works better for your budget.