Zero-Payment vs Deferment vs Forbearance
The payment status on your student loan changes how it is counted.
A $0 payment, a deferred loan, and a loan in forbearance are not treated the same way in the DTI calculation, which is why the documentation you bring matters.
Income-driven repayment at $0
Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide allows a lender to obtain student-loan documentation verifying an actual $0 monthly payment under an income-driven repayment plan, and to qualify the borrower using that documented $0 payment (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05, effective Aug. 5, 2026).
Deferred loans and loans in forbearance
For a student loan that is deferred or in forbearance, Fannie Mae permits the lender to use either 1% of the outstanding balance or a fully amortizing payment calculated from the documented repayment terms — not the $0 treatment that applies to a documented income-driven payment (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05, effective Aug. 5, 2026).
What documentation should resolve
If a credit report shows an incorrect student-loan payment, Fannie Mae’s guidance permits the lender to use the most recent student-loan statement to verify the actual required payment instead (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-05, effective Aug. 5, 2026).
Lenders may apply a more conservative approach
Fannie Mae’s guidance acknowledges that a lender may apply a more conservative calculation than the minimum it requires, as long as that approach is applied consistently to similar loans (Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-6-02, effective Apr. 2, 2025). Ask which calculation a lender is using for your file.