Whether you’ve just graduated from college or you’ve been making payments for years, your student loan debt can seem endless. When you take out a federal student loan, the Standard Repayment Plan is currently 10 years. But starting in the summer of 2026, there will be a new Standard Repayment Plan with terms that range from 10 to 25 years, depending on your loan amount.
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average student borrower takes 20 years to pay off their loans. However, this timeline can vary based on factors such as the type of repayment plan and interest.
And, not all loans are treated equally. Your major, amount borrowed, loan type, and chosen career path can all influence how much you could end up paying back. Continue reading to discover steps you can take to help reduce your student loan debt.
Table of Contents
Key Points
• Student loan repayment terms vary significantly, with federal loans currently offering a 10-year standard plan and private loans having terms set by individual lenders.
• Federal student loans provide multiple repayment options, including income-driven plans that adjust payments based on income, potentially forgiving remaining balances on the Income-Based Repayment plan after a specified period.
• Borrowers can expedite loan repayment by making extra payments or refinancing, although refinancing may lead to the loss of federal loan benefits like income-driven repayment.
• Income-driven repayment can lower monthly payments for borrowers in lower-paying jobs, but extending the loan term may increase overall interest costs.
• Employer assistance for student loans may be available under the CARES Act, allowing tax-free payments up to $5,250 through 2025.
How Long Are Student Loan Terms?
How long it takes to pay off student loans can vary based on a few different factors. There is a specific selection of student loan terms available for federal student loan borrowers. The current Standard Repayment Plan spans 10 years but borrowers can change their repayment plan at any time, without incurring any fees.
The recent U.S. domestic policy bill created a new Standard Repayment Plan that will be introduced in the summer of 2026 and apply to loans issued after July 1, 2026. This Standard Plan has terms that start at 10 years for loan balances less than $25,000 and go up to 25 years for balances over $100,000.
The terms on private student loans are set by the individual lender. Terms are set at the time the loan is borrowed. To adjust the terms of a private student loan, the borrower will generally need to refinance the loan. Check in directly with the private student loan lender.
Federal Student Loan Terms
While most federal student loans use the standard repayment plan, other loans have different options. (And both Direct Consolidation Loans and FFEL Consolidation Loans offer 10- to 30-year repayment terms.)
Here are the current repayment plans that the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has set up for federal loans.
• Standard Repayment Plan: up to 10 years
• Graduated Repayment Plan: up to 10 years
• Extended Repayment Plan: up to 25 years
• Income-Driven Repayment Plans, including:
◦ Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan: up to 20 years
◦ Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan: 20 or 25 years
◦ Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan: 25 years
The IBR plan forgives any outstanding balances at the end of the term. Borrowers who are on PAYE or ICR can switch to IBR and get credit for their payments. Keep in mind that you may have to pay taxes on the forgiven balance after 2025.
💡 Quick Tip: Ready to refinance your student loan? With SoFi’s no-fees-required loans, you could save thousands. (You may pay more interest over the life of the loan if you refinance with an extended term.)
Private Student Loan Terms
For those who’ve taken out private student loans to pay for school, the payment plan may differ from those with federal loans. Some private lenders have terms that are 10 years like their federal counterparts. Other lenders cap terms at 20 or 25 years.
The repayment timeline for private loans varies — for some private loans, you might have to start paying it back while you’re still in school. And they might have fixed or variable interest rates. Because of this, it’s hard to measure how long it takes the average person to pay off their private student loans.
Recommended: Average Student Loan Debt
Paying Off Your Student Loans Sooner
There are plenty of smart ways to pay off student loans. Most important is that you make your payments on-time each month. But, strategies like making overpayments can help you accelerate your pay-off timeline. Regardless of the type of loan you have, there are steps you can take to help get rid of your student debt sooner than you originally thought.
Pay More Than the Minimum
Paying the minimum might be what you can afford right now. But if you come into some extra cash — whether through a bonus at work, a gift from a relative, or your tax refund — you can use this money toward your student loan balance.
Cutting away at your debt when possible may help shorten the length of your repayment.
Want to pay your student loans off fast?
Understand how student loan
refinancing can help.
Refinance Your Loans
While consolidating your federal student loans with a Direct Consolidation Loan is an option for some, those with private student loans may want to consider refinancing instead.
Refinancing your student loans means a private lender pays off your student loans for you and then you pay back your lender with a new loan, new interest rate, and new terms. Ideally, your interest rate would be lower, which could save you money on interest over the life of the loan. However, your interest charges may increase if you refinance with an extended term.
Refinancing allows you to combine all your loans, private and federal, into one for more streamlined payments. But if the interest rate offered isn’t lower than what you’re currently paying, or there are more fees, you might want to keep your options open.
And keep in mind that when you refinance, you’ll lose your federal loan benefits like income-based repayment or forbearance. If you’d like to continue taking advantage of those benefits, refinancing might not be for you right now. Ultimately, refinancing should be helpful, not cause more stress or create more debt.
💡 Quick Tip: When refinancing a student loan, you may shorten or extend the loan term. Shortening your loan term may result in higher monthly payments but significantly less total interest paid. A longer loan term typically results in lower monthly payments but more total interest paid.
Choosing Another Payment Plan
As mentioned, federal student loan borrowers can change their repayment plan at any time. Calculating your student loan payment is easy with tools like SoFi’s student loan calculator. These calculators can help estimate how much you’ll be paying each month on your student loans. Once you get an estimate, you can more easily decide if you want to choose a new payment plan, stick with your current payment plan, or switch to another.
Income-driven repayment is one option that allows borrowers to lower their monthly payments, though generally, this results in an extended loan term with increased interest costs. Continue reading for more details on income-driven repayment for federal student loans.
Income-Driven Repayment
Income-driven repayment uses your discretionary income and family size to determine how much you pay on a monthly basis. This can be helpful for those in entry-level, lower-paying positions, as they could pay less monthly early on.
As your financial situation improves, your monthly payment minimum increases in turn (and vice versa). Remember that income-based repayment often has a longer term, which could mean you end up paying more interest over the life of your loans. Three types of income-driven repayment include PAYE, IBR, and ICR plans.
Due to recent legislation, the PAYE and ICR plans will be eliminated soon, and a new income-driven option called the Repayment Assistance Plan will be introduced in 2026.
Income-Based Repayment (IBR)
IBR sets payments at 10% of discretionary income for loans borrowed after July 1, 2014 and 15% for loans borrowed before that date. Newer borrowers have a repayment term of 20 years, while those with older loans have a term of 25 years. IBR should offer loan forgiveness at the end of your term, though the DOE has paused processing IBR forgiveness applications while it updates its systems.
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
On the PAYE Plan, loan repayment takes place over 20 years. Payments are 10% of your discretionary income, but never more than what you would pay on the standard 10-year repayment plan.
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
The loan repayment term for the ICR Plan is 25 years. Loan payments can be either 20% of your discretionary income or the value of what you’d pay on a fixed payment repayment plan over 12 years — whichever is lesser in value.
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
RAP will become an option for borrowers in the summer of 2026. It will also be the only income-driven repayment option for loans issued after July 1 of that year. RAP sets your payment at 1% to 10% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) each year. It offers forgiveness after 30 years of payments.
Exploring Your Employee Benefits
Your job might be able to help you with your student loan debt. Under the CARES Act, employers may pay up to $5,250 as tax-free student loan payments for employees through Dec. 31, 2025. Here are some employers who might help you pay your loans.
Refinance Your Student Loans With SoFi
You can refinance student loans to ideally secure a lower interest rate, which could reduce the amount of money you’ll owe over the life of the loan. It’s also possible to adjust your repayment term — though keep in mind that while extending your term will result in lower payments, it may increase your interest costs over the life of the loan. You’ll also lose access to federal repayment plans, forgiveness programs, and other benefits if you refinance federal student loans with a private lender.
Refinancing at SoFi is easy — it takes a few minutes to fill out a simple, online application. Qualifying borrowers can secure competitive interest rates, and there are no required fees. Plus, as a SoFi member, you’ll gain access to other benefits like exclusive events and financial planning.
Looking to lower your monthly student loan payment? Refinancing may be one way to do it — by extending your loan term, getting a lower interest rate than what you currently have, or both. (Please note that refinancing federal loans makes them ineligible for federal forgiveness and protections. Also, lengthening your loan term may mean paying more in interest over the life of the loan.) SoFi student loan refinancing offers flexible terms that fit your budget.
SoFi Student Loan Refinance SoFi Loan Products
Terms and conditions apply. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are private loans. When you refinance federal loans with a SoFi loan, YOU FORFEIT YOUR ELIGIBILITY FOR ALL FEDERAL LOAN BENEFITS, including all flexible federal repayment and forgiveness options that are or may become available to federal student loan borrowers including, but not limited to: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Income-Based Repayment, Income-Contingent Repayment, extended repayment plans, PAYE or SAVE. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Learn more at SoFi.com/eligibility. SoFi Refinance Student Loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.
Tax Information: This article provides general background information only and is not intended to serve as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for legal counsel. You should consult your own attorney and/or tax advisor if you have a question requiring legal or tax advice.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
SOSLR-Q325-072