Student Loan Repayment Calculator
Canada Student Loans charge 0% interest since April 2023, only the provincial portion still grows. Enter each balance separately to see why extra payments belong on the provincial part, with the loan-interest tax credit counted in.
Rates & rules verified · July 2026Primary sources: CRA – Tax rates and income brackets · Justice Canada – Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations
What extra payments save
Provincial interest at a range of extra monthly amounts on top of your regular payment, sent to the provincial portion first or split by balance. The shaded gap is what directing the extra saves.
Who pays under RAP
Each year on the Repayment Assistance Plan: what you pay, and the interest and principal the government covers.
Balance over time
Federal (0%) and provincial (interest-bearing) balances, stacked so the top edge is what you owe, with the month the provincial portion is paid off marked.
Repayment schedule
Annual summary, federal and provincial balances, and provincial interest paid each year.
| Year | Paid | Prov. interest | Federal bal. | Provincial bal. | Total bal. |
|---|
How this is calculated
0% federal interest since April 1, 2023
The Government of Canada permanently eliminated interest on the federal Canada Student Loan portion. That balance still has to be repaid, but it does not grow. This tool sets the federal monthly rate to 0 and only accrues interest on the provincial portion at provRate ÷ 12.
How your payment is split
One regular payment covers both portions, and each portion has its own scheduled installment. The tool amortizes both over the same term at their own rates (the way a consolidated student loan is scheduled), choosing the term at which the two installments add up to your monthly payment. You can't skip the federal installment, but extra payments can be applied to the provincial portion if you ask the NSLSC (or your provincial lender). Once a portion is paid off, the money it no longer needs goes to the other one, so you keep paying the same total until the debt is gone.
Why the extra belongs on the provincial portion
Only the provincial loan charges interest, so an extra dollar there cuts interest, while an extra dollar on the 0% federal loan saves nothing. The tool sends your extra to the provincial portion first and also simulates splitting the same extra by balance. Interest saved = interest with the extra split by balance − interest with it sent to the provincial portion. With no extra the two are identical.
What extra payments save
Each point on this chart re-runs the same month-by-month schedule as the headline result with that much extra a month, from $0 up, and plots the provincial interest both ways. The shaded gap between the lines is what directing the extra saves, and your current extra is marked. In a 0% province there is no interest to save, so the chart shows the time to debt-free instead.
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)
RAP sets your required payment on government student loans by family income and size, and only helps when that payment is below your regular one. Your required payment is $0 when your gross family income is no more than the threshold for your family size. As of August 2026, ESDC's monthly thresholds are $3,866 ($46,392 a year) for one person, $4,535 for two, $5,556 for three, $6,412 for four, $7,170 for five, $7,854 for six and $8,483 for seven or more. They rise with inflation every August 1 (source: ESDC, Repayment Assistance Plan).
Above the threshold, section 19 of the Canada Student Financial Assistance Regulations sets the payment as a share of your monthly family income X: X × the lesser of 10% and 1.5 × ((X − threshold) ÷ (100 × increment) + 0.01). The increment is $250 a month for one person, $350 for two, $425 for three, $500 for four, $575 for five, $650 for six and $725 for seven or more. In plain terms, just above the threshold you pay 1.5% of your income, that share rises 1.5 points for every increment of income above the threshold, and it never passes 10% of family income. The tool assumes a spouse or partner has no government student loans of their own (if they do, the payment is shared between you), and it applies the federal rules to the provincial portion too: provinces run RAP for their part, and their thresholds can differ. Apply through the NSLSC for the official amount.
The tool splits the RAP payment between the portions by outstanding principal. In Stage 1 it pays interest first and the government pays the interest it doesn't cover, so the balance never grows. Stage 2 starts after 60 months on RAP or 10 years after you left school, whichever comes first: the government also pays the principal your payment doesn't, re-amortizing each portion so the loan is gone 15 years after you left school (10 with a permanent disability, not modelled here). The Who pays under RAP chart shows both parts year by year. The tool assumes you start RAP now with no earlier RAP months and an income that stays the same (RAP is reassessed every six months).
Student-loan interest tax credit
Interest you pay on government student loans qualifies for a non-refundable federal credit at 14% plus a provincial credit, so roughly 19–25% of interest paid comes back as a credit (it reduces tax owing, it is not a refund). It applies only to interest, never principal, and only to government loans, not a bank student line of credit. The old tuition/education credits do not apply to loan interest. Since federal loans are now 0%, essentially all creditable interest comes from the provincial portion, and interest the government pays for you under RAP doesn't count.
Zero and edge cases
With a 0% provincial rate the loan is a straight-line payoff (balance ÷ payment). If your payment cannot cover the provincial interest, or the scheduled installments would not retire the loan within 100 years, the tool says so instead of reporting a fake payoff date, and shows the first 15 years. Student-loan interest is simple, so interest a payment leaves unpaid is still owed but doesn't earn interest itself.
What this doesn't model
Grace periods (interest-free federally for 6 months after leaving school), a private student line of credit (prime-linked, see the credit-card payoff calculator for high-interest debt strategy), RAP reassessment as your income changes, earlier time on RAP, the disability version of RAP, a spouse's own student loans under RAP, provincial RAP rules that differ from the federal ones, different repayment terms for the two portions, or provincial rate changes. RAP thresholds as of August 2026; other rates and rules confirmed as of July 2026.
Common questions
Do Canada Student Loans still charge interest in 2026?
No. The federal government permanently eliminated interest on the Canada Student Loan (federal) portion effective April 1, 2023. Federal loans still must be repaid, but they no longer grow. Only the provincial portion of an integrated student loan can still accrue interest, and even that is 0% in several provinces.
Should I pay off the federal or provincial part of my student loan first?
Direct every extra dollar to the provincial portion first, because it is the only part charging interest. Your regular payment still covers both portions on their schedule, but extra payments can be applied to the provincial portion. Paying down the 0% federal balance early saves you nothing, while the provincial balance keeps charging interest. Targeting the provincial portion can save hundreds to thousands in interest and shorten your payoff.
What is the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)?
RAP caps your government student loan payment based on family income and size. From August 2026, a single person with gross family income of $46,392 a year ($3,866 a month) or less pays $0 and the government covers any interest; the threshold is higher for larger families and rises with inflation each August. Above the threshold, the payment starts at 1.5% of family income and rises with income, but never exceeds 10% of it. The government covers the interest your payment does not and, after five years on RAP or ten years out of school, principal too, so the balance is fully retired within 15 years of leaving school (10 with a permanent disability).
Can I claim a tax credit for student loan interest in Canada?
Yes. Interest paid on government student loans (Canada Student Loans, provincial loans, and integrated loans) qualifies for a 14% federal non-refundable tax credit plus a provincial credit, roughly 19-25% combined depending on province. It only applies to interest, not principal, and only to government loans, not bank lines of credit.