In August 2022, The White House announced a plan to cancel student loans for values up to $20,000 depending on your income levels. Processes should to be “automatic”, but it would be prudent and advisable for you to be proactive in your loan cancellation process by following up with your loan provider weekly or bi-weekly. Remember, you should be the most informed and proactive person handling your finances.
Here’s some information you can use to see if you are eligible for this subsidy.
If you:
- Are a borrower or a student who owes a federal undergraduate or graduate loan that was awarded before June 30, 2022, you may be eligible for the subsidy under the Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
- Are single with no children and made under $125,000 in 2020 or 2021, you may be eligible for up to $10,000 in Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
- Are in a household (married/single with children) that made under $250,000 in 2020 or 2021, you may be eligible for up to $10,000 of the Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program
- Received a Pell Grant and your income is below the max allowed for the program, you may be eligible to receive an additional $10,000 in forgiveness subsidy.
- Have been filing your taxes, your loan forgiveness process should be automatic.
- Have not been filing taxes, there will be an application process starting in October 2022. Realistically, you can expect the process to last 6-8 weeks.
- Posted payments after March 13, 2020, during the Covid emergency repayment pause, you can request a refund from your loan provider from those payments made and if you are eligible, apply for the forgiveness program once your refund is added to your balance.
Keep in mind that your loan providers and loan balances may have changed in the last year so it’ll be up to you to make sure your debt forgiveness and income is accounted appropriately. Also, private loans that are not held by the federal government are not eligible for the program.
If you need support catching up with your tax filings, you can set up a complimentary tax prep appointment here: