The Department of Education in the United States offers many forgiveness and discharge programs for federal student loans. In rare circumstances, you may be able to have some or all of your loans forgiven or discharged.
Payments for student loan forgiveness programs are typically made for a fixed length of time. The remaining loan balance is erased once you have met the requirements of the forgiveness programs.
1. Income-Driven Repayment Forgiveness
If you cannot afford your payments under a 10-year normal repayment plan, then income-driven repayment (IDR) plan forgiveness is an alternative. You enter into an IDR plan using this technique, and your monthly payment is based on your family size and discretionary income. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to qualify for a substantially lower monthly payment than you are currently making.
Depending on the plan you select, your repayment duration could be 20 or 25 years. If you still owe money at the conclusion of your repayment period, the remainder is forgiven. However, the amount of the canceled loan may be taxable as income.
You must be eligible for one of the following IDR plans and have a balance after making payments for the entire repayment term to qualify for IDR plan forgiveness:
Income-based repayment
Income-contingent repayment
Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE)
2. Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Some federal loan borrowers may be eligible for loan forgiveness through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) after making 120 monthly payments. To be eligible, you must work full-time for an eligible non-profit organization or government agency and make 120 monthly qualifying payments. Payments made under an IDR plan qualify as qualifying payments for PSLF purposes. The amount forgiven under PSLF is not taxable as income.
3. Teacher Loan Forgiveness
Under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program, you may be eligible to receive up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness if you work five complete academic years as a full-time teacher in a low-income elementary, middle, or secondary school or educational organization.
Borrowers with the following categories of loans are eligible:
Unsubsidized federal direct loans (sometimes known as unsubsidized Stafford loans)
Federal direct subsidized loans (sometimes known as subsidized Stafford loans)
Only teachers of specific disciplines, such as math or science, are eligible for the full $17,500 in tax relief. Other subject teachers may be eligible for $5,000 in forgiveness instead. After five years of service, submit the Teacher Loan Forgiveness application to your loan servicer.
In addition to these initiatives, there are numerous other options to achieve student loan forgiveness, including employer-sponsored initiatives and initiatives supported by state and local governments. The website for Federal Student Aid has more details regarding student loan forgiveness options.
Meta Intro:Loan forgiveness can sound like a dream come true to people who are struggling with college debt. But these programs only work for federal student loans, not private ones.