U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
National Institutes of HealthAwardee Portal Login
Log in to access the awardee portal for information about LRP awards, including the LRP repayment schedule.
Payment & Distribution
Award benefits are calculated differently for new and renewal awards. Use the repayment calculator or read more to learn more about how quarterly repayment amounts are calculated.
Award Formulas
Repayments for all new Extramural and Intramural LRP awards are calculated by using the eligible educational debt at the contract start date. The amount awarded is equal to one-fourth of the total eligible debt, up to $50,000, for each year of the award. To receive the maximum amount of
$50,000 per year, awardees must have at least $200,000 in eligible educational debt at the contract start date.
While the same formula is used to calculate LRP benefits for ACGME fellows, the annual repayment cap is $20,000 for ACGME fellows. To receive the maximum amount of $20,000 per year, ACGME fellows must have at least $80,000 in eligible education debt at the contract start date.
Payments are made on a quarterly basis, starting with the loan with the highest priority per NIH guidelines. If a loan is paid-in-full before the end of the awardee's contract, payments will be directed to the loan with the next highest priority.
View the order in which loans are repaid by the NIH.
Use the repayment calculator to get an award amount estimate.
Repayments for a renewal award are calculated using the remaining eligible educational debt as of the start date of the renewal award. The amount awarded is equal to one-half of the remaining eligible debt, up to $50,000. If the remaining eligible educational debt is less than $10,000,
then the amount awarded is equal to the full amount of the remaining eligible debt.
Payments are made on a quarterly basis, starting with the loan with the highest priority per NIH guidelines. If a loan is paid-in-full before the end of a contract, payments will be directed to the loan with the next highest priority. An applicant for a renewal award must have remaining
eligible educational debt of at least $2,000 to apply for a renewal.
A renewal award may only be for one year for Intramural awardees, while it may be for one or two years for extramural awardees. If a two-year renewal is awarded, the amount awarded during the second renewal year is equal to one-half of the remaining eligible debt at the end of the first
renewal year, up to $50,000.
View the order in which loans are repaid by the NIH.
Use the repayment calculator to get an award amount estimate.
Loan Repayment Priority Order
DLR directs loan repayments to lenders in a specific order based on the type of each loan. For instance, loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Health of Human Services (e.g., Health Professions Student Loans) have the highest priority, thus payments will be directed to these loans before any payments are directed to Stafford, Perkins, Academic Institutional, or Private loans. When a loan is paid-in-full, any subsequent payments will be directed to the remaining loan(s) with the next highest priority. See the full list of the loan priority order.
Loan Repayment Process
1. The LRP Loan Repayment process begins after an awardee completes each 13-week period (quarter) of LRP contractual service.
2. A Research Service Verification email is sent to an LRP awardee's supervisor each quarter. The email contains a link to the Research Supervisor Portal on the LRP website and instructions for completing a Service Verification.
3. A completed Service Verification is required to confirm that an LRP awardee has completed their LRP contractual service obligation. Service Verifications are time sensitive. Subsequent loan repayments may be delayed if service verifications are not completed promptly.
4. DLR will authorize a payment, and awardees will receive an email from DLR when the LRP payment has been issued. The email will also contain instructions for completing a Payment Verification.
5. Awardees must check with their loan servicer to ensure that the LRP payment has posted correctly. Payments typically post within 10-15 days of the issue date.
6. Once the LRP payment(s) has/have processed, an awardee is required to complete a Payment Verification. Payment Verifications are time sensitive. If not completed promptly, subsequent loan repayments may be delayed. Read more about Payment Verifications below.
7. Upon receipt, DLR will process an awardee's Payment Verification, and the LRP repayment process cycle begins again.
Payment Verification
As described above, when a payment is issued to a lender, awardees will be notified by email along with instructions on how to fulfill the payment verification requirement. Awardees can verify a payment by submitting a screenshot or printout of the account statement to DLR. To satisfy the payment verification requirement, the document must contain the following information:
- The awardee's name
- Date account statement was generated
- Posting date of LRP payment
- LRP payment amount
- Current loan balance or payoff amount
- Loan type (e.g., Stafford, Perkins, etc.)
While the NIH LRPs will make loan payments on awardees' behalf on a quarterly schedule, it is still wholly the awardees' responsibility to make payments or other arrangements with their lenders to keep their loans in good standing before the commencement of LRP payments or during lapses in loan repayments due to administrative complications, Leave Without Pay, or a break in service. If an awardee wishes to have LRP payments applied to prepay future installments so that the lender does not require the awardee to make monthly payments between the quarterly LRP payments, it is the awardee's responsibility to contact, discuss, and finalize an arrangement with their lenders. DLR will not reimburse awardees for additional accrued interest, penalties, and/or fees assessed to loans at any time.
Research Service Changes
Employment
It is the responsibility of award recipients to notify DLR immediately if there is a pending change in employment. LRP awardees must submit a Change of Institution (COI) application to be considered for continuation in the Program. A COI applicant must meet all LRP eligibility
criteria, and COI requests are subject to final approval by the NIH Institute or Center that funded the LRP award. Approval of COIs is not guaranteed.
To initiate the COI process, please complete and submit a COI application. The COI application with instructions is available on the Awardee Portal.
Upon completion, DLR will forward the COI application to the NIH Institute/Center (IC) that funded the award. The IC will review the application and make a decision based on the research that will be conducted at the new institution or employer and whether it is similar to the
research described in the most recent funded LRP application. Even if the site of the research remains the same, a COI must be completed if the employer changes.
If the employer changes to a for-profit or non-domestic institution, eligibility criteria for the LRP will not be met and a current award will be terminated immediately. This may also constitute a breach of contract and the awardee may be subjected to the financial penalties
described in the contract.
If a change in employment results in a lapse of research service, a subsequent quarterly repayment will be pro-rated (reduced) to account for the research time missed.
If an awardee transfers to another IC within the NIH, the awardee may continue to participate in the NIH LRP as long as the IC to which the awardee is transferring also participates in the NIH Intramural LRPs. The awardee must continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
It is the responsibility of the Intramural award recipient to notify DLR immediately if there is a pending change in NIH IC. The awardee must provide a copy of the SF-50 for the new position at the new IC as soon as it becomes available. This information will be reviewed by the
Director, Intramural Loan Repayment Programs and the awardee may be asked to provide additional information during the review.
If the Intramural awardee obtains employment outside of the NIH, the awardee will no longer be eligible to participate in the Intramural LRPs and the award will be terminated immediately. This may also constitute a breach of contract and the awardee may be subjected to the financial
penalties described in the contract.
Research Project Focus
If awardees have a new supervisor, the awardee should email DLR at lrp@nih.gov with the name and email address of the new supervisor. The DLR will follow up with the new supervisor for additional information.
Extended Leave or Absence
Family Leave
Family leave can include maternity, paternity, parental, and adoption leave. Paid family leave can be taken during an LRP award. Any unpaid leave, even if covered under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), may result in a reduced quarterly payment. Awardees must make payments to lenders on their own behalf for periods of Leave Without Pay (LWOP).
Leave Without Pay
The NIH will not make loan repayments for periods of Leave Without Pay (LWOP). LWOP is defined as a temporary non-pay status and non-duty status (or absence from a prescheduled tour duty) granted at the employee’s request. If an awardee is placed in Leave Without Pay status, they must notify DLR as soon as possible by emailing lrp@nih.gov.
Loan Changes
Consolidation
Prior to loan consolidation, an awardee should follow the below guidance and understand how consolidation may impact LRP eligibility.
Only loans listed in the LRP portal may be included in the consolidation for the loan to remain eligible for loan repayment. The following cannot be consolidated with an awardee's qualified educational debt and remain eligible for repayment:
- Non-educational loans (e.g., home equity loan);
- Loans belonging to another individual (e.g., spouse or child);
- Loans disbursed after the start date of an awardee's first LRP award.
If an awardee wishes to consolidate loans, please inform DLR prior to finalizing the consolidation by emailing lrp@nih.gov.
See additional information on how to handle the consolidation process as a LRP awardee.
Sale/Transfer of Loans
If loans are sold or transferred, awardees must inform DLR immediately. DLR requires an account statement from both the prior and new lenders and a completed Loan Information Form with information on the new loan:
- Prior lender statement reflecting a $0 balance and the amount transferred to the new lender;
- New lender statement detailing lender information, LRP awardee's name, account number, and new/current balance;
- Loan Information Form with Section 1 completed.
Loans Paid-in-Full
Family Leave
When a loan is paid in full, subsequent quarterly payments will be directed to the remaining loan(s) with the next highest priority in the awardee's LRP portal. See a full
full list of the loan priority order.
If all loans in the LRP portal are paid in full, the remaining scheduled LRP payments will be sent directly to an awardee's bank account. Awardees must provide documentation that shows loans are paid in full before any funds can be directed to a bank account. However, if all loans
are paid in full as a result of an individual receiving loan forgiveness under a program such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, then the remaining scheduled LRP payments will be canceled and no payments will be sent to the awardee's bank account.
In the event an LRP loan repayment results in an overpayment on a loan, DLR will request the lender to return the overpaid amount to NIH. The awardee is expected to assist DLR in this process when and where necessary. If the lender sends the overpaid amount to the awardee, it is the
awardee's responsibility to remit a payment to DLR.
If the awardee does not provide banking documentation within 30 days of the initial request from DLR, the awardee's remaining payments will be returned to the U.S. Treasury. If there is a concern about the authenticity of the request, awardees should contact the LRP Information
Center by phone at (866) 849-4047.
Taxes
LRP loan repayments are considered taxable income and can significantly affect an awardee's taxable income. To offset the tax burden resulting from LRP repayments, the LRPs also make a tax payment to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) equal to 39 percent of the annual LRP repayment. The
LRPs will not pay any additional LRP-related taxes.
The amount reflected on the 1099-G form (Extramural) or the W-2 form (Intramural) will reflect the sum of all loan and tax payments made on an awardee's behalf during the calendar year. A 1099-G or W-2 form will be mailed no later than January 31 following the calendar year in which LRP
benefits were received.
Additional issues regarding taxes should be directed to an awardee's Certified Public Accountant (CPA), tax attorney, or IRS enrolled agent.
Renew an LRP Award
Current and prior LRP awardees may be eligibile to apply for subsequent awards, called renewal awards. All renewal applications, from both current and past awardees, are competitively reviewed. More information on the renewal process is available in the Renew section of our website.