How to Change Your Canada Student Loan Monthly Payment and Repayment Terms

Change your monthly payment through the NSLSC

If your regular student-loan payment no longer fits your budget, you do not necessarily need to apply for the Repayment Assistance Plan. For a full-time loan, the National Student Loans Service Centre (NSLSC) lets you customize your monthly payment and repayment term through your secure account.

You can increase the monthly amount to repay the debt faster or reduce the monthly amount by extending the repayment period. Canada.ca states that the repayment period can be extended up to 174 months.

Where is the payment customization option?

Sign in to your secure NSLSC account, open My Account, and select Customize My Payment Terms. The NSLSC provides this tool for full-time-loan borrowers who want to change their monthly payment or see which repayment terms better fit their situation.

NSLSC account access is now through My Service Canada Account (MSCA). Once inside your NSLSC account, use the repayment customization feature rather than making an ordinary one-time payment if your goal is to change the regular scheduled amount.

What happens when you change the monthly amount?

If you increase your payment

A larger scheduled payment reduces the time needed to repay the outstanding balance. You can also make additional or lump-sum payments separately without changing your regular payment schedule.

If you decrease your payment

A smaller scheduled payment normally means a longer repayment period. Canada.ca allows eligible borrowers to extend repayment up to 174 months to make required payments smaller.

No interest is charged on Canada Student Loans. The federal government permanently eliminated the accumulation of interest on Canada Student Loans effective April 1, 2023, although borrowers remain responsible for federal interest that accrued before April 1, 2021. A provincial portion of an integrated loan may still carry interest, so extending repayment can increase the interest paid on that provincial portion.

The NSLSC specifically identifies Canada-Ontario and Canada-Saskatchewan Integrated Student Loans as loans where extending repayment can increase the interest paid because their provincial portions can carry interest.

How long can you extend repayment?

Canada.ca states that you can extend your repayment time up to 174 months, or 14.5 years, to reduce the monthly payment. Federal student-loan agreement terms also describe a standard amortization period of 9.5 years that may, where applicable, be adjusted up to 14.5 years in consultation with the borrower.

The exact payment available to you depends on your outstanding balance and the repayment terms shown by the NSLSC. Use the customization tool to see the effect before confirming a change.

Can you change the payment date or frequency too?

Yes. Canada.ca treats payment amount, payment date and payment frequency as separate repayment options. You can sign in to your NSLSC account to change your payment due date. You can also arrange weekly or bi-weekly payments by adding multiple days of the month as payment dates.

If you use pre-authorized debit, keep your banking information current. The NSLSC states that banking information for a pre-authorized debit must be changed at least 4 business days before the next payment due date for the update to apply before that withdrawal.

What if you have a part-time student loan?

The online Customize My Payment Terms route is described for full-time student loans. If you have a part-time student loan and want to change the monthly payment, the NSLSC instructs you to contact it directly.

Changing payment terms is not the same as RAP

Customizing your repayment terms changes how you repay the loan; it is not an application for financial assistance and does not by itself reduce the debt you owe. If adjusting the payment amount or extending the term still does not make repayment manageable, the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) is a separate option.

Under RAP, eligible borrowers may qualify for a reduced payment or no payment for a six-month period based on their circumstances. If you are specifically trying to determine how household income affects RAP eligibility, see the separate example for RAP income with one dependent child in Alberta.

Do you need to change the terms to pay the loan faster?

No. If your goal is simply to pay more than the scheduled amount, you can make additional or lump-sum payments without necessarily changing your regular repayment terms. The NSLSC allows one-time payments through your secure account, and Canada Student Loan agreement terms allow all or part of the outstanding balance to be paid early without a prepayment penalty.

Before you confirm a lower monthly payment

• Check the new monthly amount and the resulting repayment period.
• Check whether your loan has a provincial portion that still charges interest.
• Remember that lowering the payment generally keeps the loan in repayment for longer.
• Use RAP instead if changing the normal repayment schedule still does not make the payment affordable and you may qualify for assistance.
• Keep your payment date and banking details current so the repayment-term change does not lead to an accidental missed payment.

Missing scheduled student-loan payments can affect your credit and can eventually lead to collection consequences. If your financial situation has changed significantly, review your repayment options before simply allowing a scheduled payment to be missed.