Student Loan Payoff Calculator

Knowing the exact date your loan disappears, and the total interest you will hand over to get there, turns a vague obligation into a concrete plan. That clarity carries real weight now that federal loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 carry fixed rates of 6.52% for undergraduate Direct Loans, 8.07% for graduate Direct Unsubsidized Loans and 9.07% for PLUS loans. With those figures in view, choices like raising your payment or refinancing become measurable rather than guesswork.

Behind the payoff date is standard amortization, applied step by step. Each month the tool calculates the interest accrued, then reduces the principal balance by the remaining portion of your payment, repeating until the balance reaches zero. When you set a target number of months, the payment is A = P × r / (1 - (1 + r)^-n); when you set a target payment, the number of months is n = log(A / (A - P × r)) / log(1 + r), rounded up. P is the principal, A is the monthly payment and r is the monthly interest rate.

Small extra payments carry more weight than most borrowers expect, trimming both interest and the months left on the loan. Bear in mind that these projections assume a fixed rate and steady monthly payments; a variable rate or a missed payment will shift your real timeline. The rate on a federal Direct Loan is fixed for the life of the loan and only loans first disbursed after each July 1 get a new one, so revisit the plan when you borrow again, refinance or change your payment rather than setting it once and forgetting it.