The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) signed into law on July 4, 2025, made statutory changes to Sections 455(a), 455(d), 455(e), 455(g), and 455(q) that impact borrower eligibility, terms and conditions, and borrowers’ rights and responsibilities for Direct Loans received on or after July 1, 2026.
Additionally, previous provisions regulated in 34 CFR 685.209 effective July 1, 2024, were invalidated as a result of court actions on March 10, 2026.
Section 493C of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the HEA), authorizes the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan for borrowers who obtain student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program. Section 455(e) of the HEA describes income-contingent repayment plans for borrowers who obtain student loans through the Direct Loan Program. Section 455(q) of the HEA describes the Repayment Assistance Plan for borrowers who obtain student loans through the Direct Loan Program.
These plans are collectively referred to as income driven repayment (IDR) plans and the regulations that govern them are in 34 CFR 682.215 (for FFEL Program loans) and 685.209 (for Direct Loans). There are three income-contingent repayment plans: the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan (formerly REPAYE), Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan, and the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan.
The court action effective March 10, 2026 invalidates the SAVE Plan and the OBBBA requires the remaining income-contingent plans be sunset by July 1, 2028.
The Department is updating the currently approved IDR Request Form that is used by a borrower to enroll, recertify, or change their IDR plan to support the provisions identified by the OBBBA and court action. Specifically, the form is being updated to add the Repayment Assistance Plan as an option for borrowers to select and revising the questions related to family size to accurately gather the borrower’s number of dependents—a component unique to the Repayment Assistance Plan.
Additionally, the form explains the terms of the Repayment Assistance Plan and provides notice that the PAYE and ICR plans will be sunset in 2028 (the SAVE Plan was removed in a previous version of the form as a result of a court injunction). Additional updates to improve clarity and the borrower experience as a result of these changes have also been made.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 7, 2026
To view this Federal Register publication, click here.