{
  "slug": "pslf-remaining-payments",
  "title": "PSLF Remaining Payments Calculator",
  "heading": "PSLF Remaining Payments Tracker",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pslf-remaining-payments",
  "summary": "Estimate how many qualifying payments you have left until Public Service Loan Forgiveness.",
  "description": "Public Service Loan Forgiveness discharges remaining federal Direct Loan balances after 120 qualifying monthly payments made while working full-time for a qualifying government or nonprofit employer, typically under an income-driven repayment plan. Payments don't need to be consecutive, but they must be full, on-time, and made while employed by a qualifying organization — payments made under the wrong loan type (like older FFEL loans, unless consolidated) or during non-qualifying employment don't count. This calculator takes your qualifying payment count so far and your current employer/repayment status to project your remaining payments and estimated forgiveness date, and flags the payment count milestone so you can track progress against your loan servicer's official PSLF payment count via the PSLF Help Tool, which remains the authoritative record.",
  "formula": "Remaining payments = 120 − qualifying payments made; forgiveness date = today + (remaining payments in months), if continuously qualifying.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=pslf-remaining-payments",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "paymentsMade",
      "label": "Qualifying payments made so far",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 0,
      "max": 120
    },
    {
      "id": "monthlyPayment",
      "label": "Current monthly IDR payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 250,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "loanBalance",
      "label": "Current federal Direct Loan balance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "remaining",
      "label": "Qualifying payments remaining",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "yearsRemaining",
      "label": "Approx. years remaining (if continuous)",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "pctComplete",
      "label": "Percent of 120 payments complete",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalRemainingPaid",
      "label": "Estimated total still to be paid",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "forgivenAmount",
      "label": "Estimated balance forgiven at completion",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Qualifying payments made so far: 60",
      "Current monthly IDR payment: 250 $",
      "Current federal Direct Loan balance: 60000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Qualifying payments remaining: 60",
      "Approx. years remaining (if continuous): 5",
      "Percent of 120 payments complete: 50%",
      "Estimated total still to be paid: $15,000",
      "Estimated balance forgiven at completion: $45,000"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter qualifying payments made so far.",
      "Enter current monthly idr payment ($).",
      "Enter current federal direct loan balance ($).",
      "Read your qualifying payments remaining on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "paymentsMade": 36,
        "monthlyPayment": 150,
        "loanBalance": 36000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "paymentsMade": 60,
        "monthlyPayment": 250,
        "loanBalance": 60000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "paymentsMade": 96,
        "monthlyPayment": 400,
        "loanBalance": 96000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Do my payments need to be consecutive?",
      "a": "No, qualifying payments do not need to be made in a row. You can change employers (as long as each is a qualifying public service or nonprofit employer), take an approved deferment for certain reasons, or have gaps, and still accumulate toward the 120 total, though gaps in qualifying employment itself don't count toward the total."
    },
    {
      "q": "Do only IDR plan payments count toward PSLF?",
      "a": "Payments count if made under an income-driven repayment plan or the standard 10-year plan, but not under extended or graduated plans in most cases, and not while in deferment or forbearance except for specific qualifying periods like AmeriCorps/Peace Corps or certain administrative forbearances. Because the standard 10-year plan would fully pay off the loan right at 120 payments anyway, virtually everyone pursuing PSLF uses an IDR plan to leave a balance to forgive."
    },
    {
      "q": "What loan types qualify for PSLF?",
      "a": "Only Direct Loans qualify directly. FFEL Program loans and Perkins Loans must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan to become eligible, and that consolidation resets your qualifying payment count to zero for the new consolidated loan, so timing the consolidation early in your public service career matters."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is loan forgiveness under PSLF taxable?",
      "a": "No, unlike IDR forgiveness after 20-25 years, PSLF forgiveness has always been excluded from federal taxable income under the statute that created it, so you won't owe federal income tax on the forgiven balance. Some states may treat it differently, so check your state's tax treatment of student loan forgiveness."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/student-loan-idr-payment",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/fers-pension-estimate"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — PSLF Remaining Payments Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/pslf-remaining-payments)"
}