While in forbearance, you do not have to make monthly payments on your student loans and interest will not accrue. But time spent in this forbearance does not count towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or income-driven repayment (IDR) plan forgiveness.
$0 IDR payments count for PSLF. If you're using an income-based plan, it's using your previous years' income to determine your payment.
IDR plans may offer lower payments because they are based on your income and family size. Payments can be as low as $0 per month, depending on your circumstances.
Should I apply for PSLF if I haven't made 120 qualifying payments? Not until you've worked 10 years for a qualifying employer, with your loans on an eligible plan the whole time. You can and should submit an ECF certifying your employment so you can start to track your progress toward forgiveness.
Defaulted Direct Loans are not eligible for PSLF, and payments made while the loan was in default cannot count toward the 120 required payments.
Defaulted Direct Loans are not eligible for PSLF. However, a defaulted loan may become eligible for PSLF if you resolve the default.
Grace Periods. One of the most common reasons you might have a $0 monthly student loan payment right now is because you're in something called your grace period. This is generally the six-month period after you leave college when no loan payments are required. It can take a minute to get used to life after college.
Each time you satisfy a bill due, we will automatically advance your next payment due date and your billing statement will indicate a payment is not required for that bill.
If you work in certain public service jobs and have made 120 payments on your Direct Loans, you may be eligible to have your loans forgiven. If some or all of your payments were not made on a qualifying repayment plan for PSLF, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under a temporary opportunity.
Yes. Any month when your scheduled payment under an income-driven plan is $0 will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness if you also are employed full-time by a qualifying employer during that month.
What will happen if my Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) application is denied? If we determine that you're not eligible for loan forgiveness at this time, you'll be notified and will be provided with the reason(s) we determined you were ineligible. You'll then be required to resume making payments on your loans.
The number of qualifying payments you have made will be updated only when you submit another PSLF form that documents a new period of qualifying employment. Once your cumulative total of qualifying payments reaches 120, we will confirm your eligibility and work with your servicer to forgive your remaining balance.
Your remaining balance after you make 120 qualifying payments and apply for PSLF is the amount you'll have forgiven. Ultimately, the amount forgiven depends on your income, family size, and loan balance. While you're enrolled in one of our IDR plans, the amount you pay each month is determined by your income.
You need to minimize adjusted gross income (AGI).
Minimize your taxable income with pre-tax contributions to get more PSLF forgiveness. The easiest way to do this is to max out all pre-tax accounts. If you're married, you can also have your spouse do the same. This will lower your AGI as a joint economic unit.
The limited-time PSLF waiver allowed borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not have qualified for PSLF. Among other borrower accommodations, the waiver allowed all payments by student borrowers to count toward PSLF, regardless of loan program or payment plan.
The PSLF credit counts are only temporarily reset to zero after borrowers consolidate and will be corrected in the coming months. Under the current payment count adjustment, borrowers will get PSLF credit for past time working in public service while in repayment before consolidating.
You don't get reported when you're in forbearance. During the on-ramp period (through Sept. 30, 2024), we automatically put your loan in a forbearance for the payments you missed. Here's what this means: Your account was no longer considered delinquent and was made current.
In July 2024, AFT sued MOHELA for a wide range of unlawful practices, including illegally executing a “call deflection” scheme to deny service to borrowers who need help.
Your credit report will show open loans but may not reflect the most updated information. If your student loan dropped to zero, it could be because your loan was transferred to a new servicer, or you qualified for student loan forgiveness.
PSLF forgives your federal student debt after 10 years of payments. You must work in a qualifying nonprofit or government job. Submit a PSLF certification form annually to stay on track for forgiveness. Sign up for an income-driven repayment plan to lower your monthly payments while working toward forgiveness.
Apply for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan
On an IDR plan, your payments are based on your income. Under an IDR plan, payments may be as low as $0 per month. You can apply for an IDR plan, including the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, by using the IDR application (linked below).
If you work in certain public service jobs and make 120 payments on your Direct Loan(s), you may be eligible to have your loans forgiven. If you are a teacher in a low-income school or educational service agency, you may be eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
If you have a Direct Loan and have NOT applied for PSLF since October 6, 2021, you need to apply for PSLF immediately, even if you haven't reached 120 payments yet. If you have a FFEL or Perkins loan, you must first consolidate into a Direct Loan, then apply for PSLF before the waiver period ends on October 31, 2022.
As of July 2024, the PSLF Program is now fully managed by the Department via StudentAid.gov, rather than by a single loan servicer, making it easier for borrowers to track their progress toward forgiveness.