Student Loan Forgiveness Programs: What’s Available and Who Qualifies

Student loan forgiveness has already erased more than $183 billion in debt for borrowers across the country. While sweeping cancellation hasn’t happened, many borrowers have still qualified for relief through specific federal and state programs.

If you still owe, there are student loan forgiveness programs available that you may be able to take advantage of. This guide explains the different options available, including qualifying requirements. 

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What are student loan forgiveness programs?

Student loan forgiveness programs are programs offered by the federal government that cancel your remaining student loan balance after you meet certain requirements. 

Typically, you need to demonstrate eligibility to participate in a program and fulfill obligations such as making a certain number of on-time payments. Once you've met all the requirements, any remaining amount due on your student loans will be eliminated, and you won't have to pay the money back. 

“Student loan forgiveness will help your day-to-day finances by eliminating monthly payments,” says Domenick D'Andrea, an accredited investment fiduciary and co-founder of DanDarah Wealth Management. “It will also help lower your debt-to-income ratio, which can help you get new credit if needed or potentially lower rates through refinancing.”

Important changes coming in 2026

Most student loan forgiveness programs start with signing up for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. IDR plans set payments at a percentage of income. 

Once you’ve signed up, you can qualify for forgiveness either by participating in Public Service Loan Forgiveness or by making a certain number of payments on your IDR plan. 

However, big changes are coming to IDR plans in 2026. Specifically:

• If you’re a new borrower after July 1, 2026, you’ll only have one income-driven repayment plan option called the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). You’ll have to choose between RAP and the Standard Repayment Plan. 
• If you have existing student loans and don’t take out any new loans after July 1, 2026, you’ll continue to have access to a selection of IDR plans, including Pay as You Earn (PAYE), Income-Based Repayment (IBR), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR). The IBR Plan will no longer require financial hardship. 
• PAYE and ICR are being fully phased out after July 1, 2028. If you were an existing borrower before July 1, 2026, you can switch to IBR prior to the July 2028 deadline to remain on this plan. Otherwise, you’ll be switched to RAP. 

Because the IDR plans are changing, your monthly payments and your timeline for eligibility for loan forgiveness may change.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

Participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is one of the fastest ways to get your student debt discharged. You’re eligible for PSLF if:

• You’re employed full-time by a qualifying employer, including a nonprofit or the government, such as federal, state, local, and tribal governments.
• You have Direct Loans or have consolidated other eligible federal loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
• You’re repaying your loans under an income-driven plan.
• You make 120 qualifying on-time payments.

Your employer will need to certify your employment for your loans to be forgiven. Because the available IDR plans are changing soon, you may need to switch to a different repayment plan as you work toward making your 120 qualifying on-time payments.

The U.S. Department of Education also imposed new restrictions on qualifying employment, making clear that you cannot qualify for PSLF if you are working for “organizations that engage in unlawful activities such that they have a substantial illegal purpose, including supporting terrorism and aiding and abetting illegal immigration.”

Some critics have argued that the restriction could be applied in a politically influenced manner and unfairly block some organizations from qualifying for forgiveness.

Income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness

IDR plans are another popular way to qualify for loan forgiveness. These options allow borrowers to set payments at a specific percentage of income, and then any balance that remains at the end of the required repayment period is forgiven. 

Currently, there are three active IDR plans and one plan that has been suspended by the courts:

• Income-Based Repayment (IBR): If you first borrowed after July 1, 2014, payments are capped at 10% of discretionary income, and any remaining balance is forgiven after 20 years. If you first borrowed before July 1, 2014, payments are capped at 15% of discretionary income, and remaining balances are forgiven after 25 years. 
• Pay as You Earn (PAYE): Payments are capped at 10% of discretionary income, and forgiveness is available after 20 years. Payments must be less than the amount due under the Standard Repayment Plan. 
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR): Payments are set at the lesser of 20% of income or the amount you'd pay on a repayment plan with a fixed payment over the course of 12 years, adjusted based on income. Forgiveness is available after 25 years.  This plan is currently the only option parents with PLUS loans can qualify for, but they must consolidate first. 
• Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE): The courts have blocked the SAVE Plan, so borrowers can’t enroll in this plan. 

Anyone who borrowed before July 1, 2026, can choose between IBR, PAYE, and ICR, provided they don't take out any new loans. However, PAYE and ICR are going away after July 1, 2028, and borrowers on one of these plans will need to change to IBR before that date or will be put on the new Repayment Assistance Plan. 

The partial financial hardship requirement for the IBR Plan is being eliminated, and parents with loans issued before July 1, 2028, can consolidate to become eligible for IBR as long as the consolidation is completed before the deadline and they enroll in ICR (including making one payment) immediately before enrolling in IBR. 

The new Repayment Assistance Plan is the only IDR plan that will be available to new borrowers after July 1, 2026. Borrowers with older loans can also choose to switch to RAP.

RAP calculates payments based on adjusted gross income (AGI) instead of discretionary income. Payments on the RAP plan are between 1% and 10% of AGI, but there’s an annual minimum payment of $120. When payments don't fully cover monthly interest, unpaid interest is canceled so your balance doesn't increase. Any remaining balance after 30 years is forgiven.

Profession-based forgiveness programs

There are also loan forgiveness programs available for people in certain professions. This includes:

• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Teachers can have up to $17,500 of their Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans forgiven after 5 consecutive years of teaching in a qualifying position and location.
• Perkins Loan cancellation for teachers: Up to 100% of Perkins Loans can be forgiven for qualifying teachers, at a rate of 15% in year 1 and 2; 20% in year 3 and 4; and 30% in year 5. Teachers must teach in low-income schools or teach a subject in areas where there’s a shortage of qualified teachers.
• Health care workers, including nurses and other medical professionals, may be able to qualify for loan repayment programs such as the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program, the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program, the NHSC Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program, or the NHSC Rural Community Loan Repayment Program. Check out student loan forgiveness programs for health care workers to learn more. 
• Military members may also qualify for college loan forgiveness programs like National Defense Student Loan Discharge, which could result in up to 100% of loans being forgiven. 

These profession-based programs have generally not been significantly changed recently, despite changes to other student loan repayment rules. However, teachers, military members, and health care workers could be impacted by changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness. 

One-time adjustments and temporary forgiveness programs

In the past, programs like the payment count adjustment toward income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness made it easier for borrowers to get credit for all of the payments they had made on their debt, so they could get student loan forgiveness faster.

Many of these programs have concluded, as expansion of student loan forgiveness options is no longer a legislative priority. 

What student loans qualify for forgiveness?

Loans that may be eligible for forgiveness under federal programs include:

• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans made to graduate or professional students
• Direct PLUS Loans made to parents, if consolidated 
• Direct Consolidation Loans 
• Subsidized and Unsubsidized FFEL program loans (consolidation may be required)
• Federal Perkins Loans (consolidation may be required)

Private student loans are not eligible for forgiveness.

What if you don’t qualify for forgiveness?

Some borrowers don't qualify for forgiveness for various reasons, including having private student loans. Those who don't qualify must be proactive. 

"If you don’t qualify for student loan forgiveness, managing your debt is crucial," says Steve Azoury, chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and owner of Azoury Financial. “Keep other debts down to an absolute minimum and look into all your repayment plans. If you’re younger, staying at home with your parents or getting roommates to save on rent or mortgage could be beneficial.”

You can also look into alternatives, such as:

• Refinancing to reduce your interest rate: Refinancing works best for private student loans because refinancing federal loans would require giving up many borrower benefits, including any future forgiveness opportunities. 
• Making extra payments on debt: This could help you pay less in interest and become debt-free faster. 

You can also ask if your employer offers any assistance programs or support to help repay student debt.