STUDENT LOAN DISCHARGE/FORGIVENESS
STUDENT LOAN DISCHARGE/FORGIVENESS
Do you want to get rid of your student loans?
Are your student loans getting you down?
Are you delinquent in your student loans?
Need some help consolidating your student loans?
DISCHARGE - The release of a borrower from the obligation to repay his or her loan.
CANCELLATION - The release of the borrower's obligation to repay all or a designated portion of principal and interest on a student loan. Also called discharge or forgiveness of a loan.
If you are a teacher and also a (i.e., you did not have an outstanding balance on a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan on Oct. 1, 1998, or on the date you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after Oct. 1, 1998) and have been teaching full-time in a low-income elementary or secondary school or for five consecutive years, you may be able to have as much as $17,500 of your subsidized or unsubsidized loans forgiven. Your PLUS loans cannot be included. For more information, go to Teacher Loan Forgiveness. If you have a Federal Perkins Loan, see Perkins Loan Cancellation for teacher cancellation in that loan program.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
If you are employed in certain public service jobs and have made 120 payments on your Direct Loans (after Oct. 1, 2007), the remaining balance that you owe may be forgiven. Only payments made under certain repayment plans may be counted toward the required 120 payments. You must not be in default on the loans that are forgiven. For more information, go to Public Service Loan Forgiveness.If your income is low enough, your payment could be as low as $0 per month.
Most federal student loans are eligible for at least one income-driven repayment plan.
These plans are designed to make your student loan debt more manageable by reducing your monthly payment amount. If you’d like to repay your federal student loans under an income-driven plan, click here.