Student Loan Payoff Calculator

Extra payments reduce your principal balance faster, which means less interest accrues each month. Over time, this compounding effect shortens your loan term significantly and saves you money on total interest paid.

Check your loan servicer's website or your monthly billing statement — it will list your current balance, interest rate, and minimum monthly payment. You can also log in to studentaid.gov to find federal loan details.

Review your monthly budget and look for subscriptions or discretionary spending you can trim. Directing windfalls like tax refunds, bonuses, or side income as lump-sum annual payments can also make a big dent in your balance.

Always specify that extra payments go toward the principal, not future payments. Contact your loan servicer or note it in your payment instructions — otherwise the servicer may apply the extra amount to next month's payment instead.

It depends on your balance, interest rate, and monthly payment. The standard federal repayment plan is 10 years, but with extra payments you can often reduce that to 5–7 years — this calculator shows your exact projected payoff timeline.

Refinancing at a lower interest rate can reduce the amount going to interest each month, meaning more of each payment reduces your principal. However, refinancing federal loans to private loans forfeits federal protections like income-driven repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

A fixed rate stays the same for the life of the loan, making your payment predictable. A variable rate can fluctuate with market conditions — it may start lower but can rise over time, increasing your monthly payment and total interest cost.

Yes. Many borrowers direct annual windfalls — such as tax refunds or year-end bonuses — as lump-sum payments. This calculator's 'Extra Annual Payment' field lets you model exactly how much time and interest a one-time yearly payment saves you.