Repayment Assistance Plan: What You'll Pay at Your Income

A single borrower on the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) pays $0 a month with a family income up to $46,392 a year. Past that line, the payment climbs fast: about $138 a month at $50,000, $415 at $60,000, and 10% of income from about $63,400 up. These are the federal numbers in effect from August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2027.

RAP only applies when its payment is lower than the one you already owe, so the size of your loan matters as much as your income. Ontario, Alberta and Quebec have their own rules, covered below.

How much will you pay on the Repayment Assistance Plan?

Your RAP payment depends on your gross family income and your family size. Below the line for your family size, you pay nothing for six months. Above it, you pay a share of your monthly income that grows as your income does, up to 10%. Here’s what that works out to under the federal rules:

Monthly payments, worked out from the formula in the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations (opens in a new tab) and the 2026 income thresholds (opens in a new tab). They assume nobody else in your family is repaying a student loan.

How the payment grows

Once you’re over the line, the payment starts at 1.5% of your monthly income. For one person, it then rises gradually, by 1.5 percentage points over each $250 a month you earn above the line, until it reaches 10%. The rise is slower for bigger families: the same 1.5 points takes $350 a month for two people, $425 for three and $500 for four.

That’s why a single borrower goes from $0 to $415 a month between $46,392 and $60,000 a year. It also means the first payment past the line is about $58 a month, not a few dollars. If your income sits just above the line, a small drop can take you back to $0.

The lines go up with inflation every August 1, so the table changes each year. The pace of the rise and the 10% cap stay the same.

Will RAP actually lower your payment?

Only if the RAP payment is smaller than your regular one. Your regular payment on a federal loan is your balance spread over the rest of a 10-year term, with no interest. When you first start repaying, that’s 114 months. A bigger balance means a bigger regular payment, so RAP keeps helping up to a higher income.

RAP lowers your payment while your yearly family income is under these amounts:

Say you’re single, earn $50,000 and owe $30,000. Your regular payment is about $263 a month. RAP would set it at $138, so you’d pay $125 less each month for six months. With $10,000 owing on the same income, RAP wouldn’t help: $138 is more than the $88 you already pay.

Interest changes this. A provincial part that charges interest, like Ontario’s or Saskatchewan’s, makes the regular payment bigger, so RAP can help up to a higher income than the table shows.

What RAP does over the years, including the government paying down your principal after five years on the plan, is covered in our guide to what happens if you can’t pay your student loans.

Does your province’s part follow the same rules?

Not everywhere. Each government sets the rules for its own part of your loan. Some provinces use the federal thresholds. Ontario and Alberta use lower ones, so you can owe a payment on the provincial part while the federal part is $0.

• British Columbia and Nova Scotia: both use the same 2026 thresholds (opens in a new tab) as the federal plan, and B.C.’s policy manual (opens in a new tab) says its rules match the federal ones. The first table covers your whole payment.
• Ontario: the Ontario part only drops to $0 if your family income is under $2,083 a month (opens in a new tab) ($25,000 a year) for one person, and its payment can reach 20% of family income. It also charges prime plus 1% interest. A single borrower earning $40,000 pays nothing on the federal part but can still owe a payment on the Ontario part. You apply for both with one application through the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC).
• Alberta: the Alberta part drops to $0 below $3,334 a month (opens in a new tab) ($40,008 a year) for one person, with the same 10% cap as the federal plan.
• Prince Edward Island: you also have to apply for repayment assistance with the province.

If your loan is from somewhere else, check your province’s student aid site before you count on the federal numbers.

What counts as family income and family size?

Family income is your gross income, before tax, plus your spouse’s or common-law partner’s if you have one. It includes (opens in a new tab) pay, government benefits, investment income and money you’re given. Family size is you, your spouse or partner, and anyone who depends on you.

A partner’s income can make a big difference. A single borrower earning $45,000 pays nothing. Add a partner earning $30,000 and the family income becomes $75,000 for two people, which means a payment of about $553 a month.

If your spouse or partner is also repaying a student loan, the payment is split between you by your share of what you owe together. If you owe two-thirds of the combined total, you pay two-thirds of the payment.

How is Quebec’s Deferred Payment Plan different?

Quebec doesn’t use RAP. Its Deferred Payment Plan is based on your own income instead of your family’s, has a lower $0 line, and lets the payment reach 20% of your income. While you’re on the plan, the government pays the interest on your loan.

The rules are in Quebec’s student financial assistance regulation (opens in a new tab) (sections 74 and 74.1):

• You pay nothing if your monthly income is under about $2,940, or $35,278 a year, as a borrower without children. That line is tied to Quebec’s minimum wage (in French) (opens in a new tab), $16.60 an hour since May 1, 2026, so it rises every May. It goes up $317 a month for each child, and another $157 for a single parent who lives with their child.
• Above the line, the minimum payment starts at 2% of your income and rises gradually, by one percentage point over each $250 a month above the line, up to 20%. The rise is slower if you have children.
• The plan only applies if its payment is lower than the one that would clear your loan within 15 years of when repayment started, at your loan’s interest rate. That rate is prime plus 0.5%, or 5.20% now.

For a single borrower without children, the two plans compare like this:

A $20,000 Quebec loan over 15 years at 5.20% costs about $160 a month, so the plan only lowers that payment on an income under about $42,800. Because Quebec counts only your own income, a partner’s pay doesn’t raise your payment the way it does under RAP.

You can use the plan for 60 months in total, and each approval lasts six months. The Deferred Payment Plan page (opens in a new tab) has a simulator, and the other conditions are in our guide to what happens if you can’t pay your student loans.

Saving a little while the payment is low

A lower payment for six months can leave a bit of room in the budget. If you can put some of it aside, you’ll have something ready for a surprise bill, or for a higher payment if your income has gone up when you reapply.

Lodavo is a free app that makes saving more rewarding. Once you connect your savings or chequing account, each $25 you have saved earns a ticket in a weekly cash draw. Every week, at least $100 goes to a user, and the top prize is $10,000. Your savings stay in your own bank.

Apply before the payment is due

RAP and Quebec’s plan both last six months at a time, and RAP needs your payments to be up to date when you apply. If the regular payment won’t fit, apply in your NSLSC account, or with Aide financière aux études in Quebec, before the next one is due.

Want a little more motivation to save? Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab) and earn tickets in the weekly draw.

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