How PSLF Buyback Amounts Are Calculated

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Buyback program allows federal student loan borrowers to "buy back" qualifying months toward PSLF that were previously ineligible because of deferment or forbearance. The goal is to allow borrowers to make up for time lost toward forgiveness for legitimate reasons such as certain deferments or administrative errors (like the current SAVE forbearance).

The “buyback” is a way to fill the gap by paying the amount that would have counted if you had been on a qualifying repayment plan during those months. The calculation is based on what your lowest IDR payment would have been at that time, adjusted for your income, family size, and loan type for that calendar year.

However, the rules vary whether it's a short deferment or forbearance (less than a year), or a longer period (more than a year). For borrowers in the SAVE forbearance specifically, it's lasted since July 2024, which is more than a year - so different rules will apply.

How The PSLF Buyback Amount Is Calculated

The Department of Education (ED) uses a set of rules that depends on how long your deferment or forbearance lasted and whether you were on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan before or after that period.

1. If the pause was less than 12 months

For short periods (under a year) the calculation is straightforward. ED looks at your payment under the lowest legal repayment plan (such as PAYE or IBR) right before and right after the deferment or forbearance. They’ll then use the lower of those two amounts as the monthly payment for your buyback calculation. Remember, since SAVE is no longer a "legal" repayment plan, it won't be used, and the courts confirmed neither will REPAYE.

Example:

Let’s say you were on the SAVE plan before entering a four-month forbearance in 2024. Your SAVE payment before the pause was $110 per month. You submitted a buyback request in November 2024. Your buyback would be calculated at the IBR or PAYE amount during that period. That would make your buyback $312/mo, so your total buyback would be $1,248.

2. If the pause was 12 months or longer

For longer deferments or forbearances, the process becomes more individualized. Borrowers must provide tax returns and family size information for each calendar year that the deferment or forbearance covered.

Here's what that request will look like and how you know what calendar years they will ask for:

ED uses this information to determine what your payment would have been under the lowest available IDR plan for that period. The income data from your tax return, along with your family size, are used to estimate your discretionary income - the basis for IDR payment calculations.

If your forbearance crossed multiple tax years, ED requires tax documentation for each of those years to ensure accuracy. And remember, it uses calendar years, not tax years. This can change the math for you.

For the periods:

• July 2024 - December 2024: IBR or PAYE using your 2024 income tax return 
• January 2025 - December 2025: IBR or PAYE using your 2025 income tax return 
• January 2026 - Present: Whatever you're supposed to be paying under RAP, IBR, or PAYE today, or your 2026 tax return (if you apply after December 2026)

Example:

Imagine you had a 20-month deferment spanning 2024 and 2025. Your 2024 adjusted gross income (AGI) was $60,000, and your 2025 AGI dropped to $55,000. Your family size was three both years. ED would calculate your buyback payments separately for each year based on those AGIs - using the lower monthly IDR payment for each respective period.

If the 10-year Standard Plan payment for your loan is lower than the calculated IDR amount, ED will use that standard payment instead. 

3. If you weren’t on an IDR plan before or after the pause

Borrowers who weren’t enrolled in an IDR plan before or after their deferment must still provide income data so ED can estimate what their payment would have been on an IDR plan. Without tax or family size information, the Department defaults to the 10-year Standard Plan payment, which is often higher than IDR-based amounts.

4. If you didn’t file taxes during the period

If you weren’t required to file a tax return during the months you’re buying back, you’ll need to submit a signed statement confirming that fact. You’ll also need to include your family size for that time period.

Without these documents, the Department automatically assigns the 10-year Standard Plan payment, which can significantly increase your buyback cost.

Should You Keep Waiting In the SAVE Forbearance?

The SAVE forbearance is ending in fall 2026 because of the court settlement and the OBBBA rules. But staying in forbearance longer doesn’t make your PSLF Buyback cheaper, nor does it add PSLF credit. 

For buyback purposes, what matters is the length of your deferment/forbearance: if it’s under 12 months, ED uses the lower of your IDR payments from just before or after the pause (for earlier periods that would mean your REPAYE payment amount).

Since the SAVE forbearance has already exceeded 12 months, ED requires tax returns and family size for each affected year and bases the buyback on the lowest repayment plan you qualified for in those months. If you don’t supply the documents within 30 days, the 10-year Standard payment is used. 

Waiting in SAVE forbearance potentially delays progress toward PSLF without reducing the cost. In fact, if you're not saving every month for this bigger lump sum payment, it could prevent you from even using the option.

Furthermore, when you're forced to leave the SAVE forbearance and being making payments, it's highly like you'll finish PSLF "the normal way" before your buyback is even processed. There's no specific "PSLF Buyback Forbearance" and each month you pay normally means one less month of buyback - until you're done.

What Happens Next

For anyone considering PSLF Buyback, the key steps are:

1. Confirm eligibility. You must be working (and certified) in qualifying public service employment and have eligible Direct Loans.
2. Review your loan history. Identify which months were in deferment or forbearance that could count under Buyback. For many borrowers, this is the SAVE forbearance.
3. Gather documentation. Make sure you have your tax returns for each year covered and note your family size for each period.
4. Submit information promptly. Respond to ED or your servicer within 30 days to avoid being assessed at the standard rate.

Don't forget that the PSLF Buyback timeline is taking upwards of two or more years... so it may be a "hurry up and wait" situation.

The PSLF Buyback program does offer way for public service borrowers to reclaim lost time toward forgiveness, but understanding the trade-offs of the program is important.

Whether your pause was a few months or several years, understanding how your IDR payments are calculated can help you plan when making up those months.

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