How To Get Student Loan Forgiveness in 2023

If repaying your student loans has become a major financial burden, it may be worth looking into how to get student loan forgiveness. 

While forgiveness won't be available to everyone, many people will qualify to have some of their debt eliminated. This could happen based on your chosen career field, where you live, or after you make a certain number of payments. 

This guide to student loan forgiveness will help you explore all of your options so you can find a program you may be eligible for. 

How to get student loan forgiveness 

If you're figuring out ways to get student loan forgiveness, it's important to know that most programs focus on forgiving federal student debt, while private student loan forgiveness is typically unavailable. 

Federal loan forgiveness programs offer relief to borrowers by canceling a portion or all of their federal student loan debt. To qualify for these programs, you’ll need to meet specific eligibility requirements such as loan type, employment, and payment history.

Understanding the various forgiveness programs and their unique eligibility requirements can help you determine the best path for you.

Federal loan forgiveness programs

If you have federal student loans, the Department of Education has several forgiveness programs that could help you erase some of your outstanding debt. 

Income-driven repayment plans

There are several income-driven loan repayment plans that you can take part in if you have eligible federal loans. The plans are:

• Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan — formerly the REPAYE plan
• Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Repayment plan
• Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan
• Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan

With these plans, you’ll typically pay between 10% and 20% of your discretionary income for either 20 or 25 years, and your remaining loan balance will be forgiven. Taking advantage of this option is as easy as contacting your loan servicer and asking to switch to the right income-driven repayment plan.

Parent student loan forgiveness may also be available, but only if you consolidate your parent PLUS loans to become eligible for an income-driven repayment plan. 

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

If you work full-time at a qualifying public service job (which usually means working for the government or a not-for-profit organization), you can have the remaining balance of your loan forgiven after making a total of 120 qualifying monthly payments under an income-driven repayment plan.

You can take part in PSLF if you have eligible federal student loans and you submit a PSLF form to your loan servicer. Conduct an employer search to find out if the company you work for makes you eligible. The PSLF help tool can help you determine if you qualify for this type of loan forgiveness. 

Teacher Loan Forgiveness 

You can get up to $17,500 of your Direct Subsidized or Direct Unsubsidized Loans forgiven under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program.

To qualify, you’ll need to work for five consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency. You must also be considered a highly qualified teacher, which means:

• You have at least a bachelor's degree.
• You've received full teacher certification from your state and not had any requirements waived.
• If you're a new teacher, you may also need to pass a state test demonstrating subject matter knowledge, or complete an academic major or advanced certification in the subjects you are teaching.

Perkins Loan cancellation

No new Perkins Loans are being issued, but those with outstanding loans may become eligible for Perkins Loan cancellation. Perkins Loan cancellation may be available to:

• Teachers
• Family services agency workers
• Firefighters
• Law enforcement officers
• Librarians with master's degrees
• Members of the military
• Nurses or medical technicians
• Early intervention service providers
• Public defenders
• Speech pathologists with master's degrees
• Volunteers with AmeriCorps Vista or Peace Corps

Typically, you can get up to 100% of your Perkins Loan canceled after five years of service in your qualifying profession (or seven years for certain employees, including individuals working in the education component of a Head Start program).

Federal loan cancellation or discharge

Federal student loans may be canceled or discharged in certain circumstances, such as if your school closed, misled you, or if you have become permanently disabled. You must have an eligible federal loan and meet certain eligibility requirements, including:

• Your school closed while you were enrolled.
• Your school committed a violation of certain laws.
• Your school falsely certified your eligibility for a loan.
• Your school failed to return your unused loans after you withdrew from school.
• You have a total and permanent disability.

Career-based repayment programs

People in certain professions can also become eligible for repayment programs. These programs typically do not result in a discharge of your debt, but instead you get a portion of your debt repaid. Here are some programs to look into for various professions.

Health care workers

Health care workers could be eligible to have a portion of their loans repaid through programs like the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) Loan Repayment program. This allows for up to $50,000 in student loans to be repaid if you work full-time for two years in communities where there’s a shortage of health care professionals.

Eligibility requirements for the NHSC Loan Repayment program can vary depending on the type of health care worker you are. The program may provide relief for clinicians who work under the following disciplines:

• Primary care medical: Physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners
• Dental care: Dentists, dental hygienists
• Behavioral and mental health: Physicians, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatric nurse specialists, marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants
• Maternity care health professionals: Physicians, certified nurse midwives

Teachers

Loan forgiveness for teachers typically comes from the federal programs already mentioned above, including Perkins Loan cancellation and Teacher Loan Forgiveness.

However, there are also some additional state-specific repayment programs for teachers in eligible areas who work in high-needs schools. 

One example is the Teach for Texas Loan Repayment Assistance program, which provides up to $2,500 in loan repayment per year (for up to five years) to teachers who work in a field or community where there is a teacher shortage. 

Lawyers

Student loan forgiveness could be available to lawyers through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or income-driven repayment plans for lawyers who do public service work. 

There are also some specialized programs, such as the Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program (ASLRP). This provides up to $6,000 in loan repayment assistance annually, up to a maximum of $60,000, for attorneys who work for the Department of Justice and who make at least a three-year service commitment. 

Military

If you've served in the military for 10 years, you may qualify for forgiveness through PSLF. But there are also various military-specific student loan forgiveness programs available, such as: 

• The Army’s College Loan Repayment Program (LRP): This is an incentive offered by the Army to attract highly qualified applicants. Through the LRP, the Army repays a portion of a soldier's qualifying student loans. 
• Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps Student Loan Repayment Program:  Active-duty Air Force officers who serve in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps can qualify for up to $65,000 in loan repayment assistance. 
• National Guard Student Loan Repayment Program: Up to $50,000 of eligible federal loans can be repaid for those who agree to serve in the National Guard for at least 6 years.  

Location-based repayment programs

The area where you live may also provide student loan repayment assistance through various programs. You can check your state’s Department of Education website to explore options where you live.

Here are some examples of local programs borrowers may be able to take advantage of: 

• Kansas Rural Opportunity Zones Student Loan Repayment Assistance: Individuals who move to an eligible "rural opportunity zone" in Kansas could get up to $15,000 in student loan repayment assistance over a period of 5 years. 
• Maryland SmartBuy program: This program allows approved homebuyers in Maryland to receive financing of up to 15% of their home purchase price (with a maximum of $20,000), and use this to repay outstanding student loan debt. 

Alternatives to student loan forgiveness

There are other sources of student loan repayment help besides forgiveness. Here are some different solutions you can look into: 

• Changing your repayment plan to be more affordable: Borrowers with federal student loans can switch to different repayment plans, including income-driven options or extended repayment plans that come with lower monthly payments. 
• Employer-sponsored repayment benefits: Some employers provide student loan repayment benefits to eligible workers. You can talk with your HR department about your options. 
• Use 529 funds: You can pay off up to $10,000 of student loans per account beneficiary from a 529 college savings account. 
• Refinancing: If you refinance student loans, you may be able to reduce your interest rate and monthly payment. Refinancing is best for private student loans since only private lenders provide refinance loans, and you’ll give up federal borrower benefits by refinancing federal loans with a private lender. 

By exploring your options, hopefully you can get some of your debt forgiven, or at least find a way to reduce the financial burden of your loans.