Medora Lee,Chris Quintana,Joey Garrison|USA TODAY
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- Applications for student debt forgiveness will be available soon.
- Borrowers should start preparing now to apply to ensure there's no delay in getting debt relief.
- Some 8 million people won't have to do anything to get their debt canceled. Find out if you're one.
On your mark, get set, go.
Federal student debt forgivenessapplications opened Monday, Oct. 17,and 4 million people have already applied since yesterday, President Joe Biden said.
Theunveiling of the application followed a beta test launched Friday that received 8 million applications, bringing the total of applicants to 12 million so far.
Peoplewho earned$125,000 or less (or $250,000 for households) in 2020 or 2021 are eligible for at least $10,000 in federal student loan debt forgiveness. Recipients ofPell Grants– usually awarded to low-incomeundergrads– can receive up to $20,000 in relief.
Roughly 40 millionborrowersare eligible for some student debt relief, with about 20 million expected to have their entire balance canceled, the White House says.
If you're one of the lucky ones,here is what you should do to ensure some or all of your debt isforgiven before repayments restart in January:
What's the site to apply for student loan forgiveness?
The online form to apply is now live and available here.
"My commitment was if elected president, I was going to make government work to deliver for the people," Biden said on Monday. "This rollout keeps that commitment, just as I am keeping my commitment to relieve student debt as borrowers recover from this economic crisis caused by the once in a lifetime pandemic."
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Who qualifies for student loan forgiveness?
Only borrowers with federal loans are eligible for relief if their individual income is less than $125,000 or $250,000 for households. Pell Grant recipients can get up to $20,000 canceled, and everyone else up to $10,000.
Public service workers (people working for federal, state, local, tribal government, military, or a nonprofit organization)with at least 10 years of service (It doesn't need to be consecutive.) may be eligible to haveall their debt canceled.
The government recently tweaked the requirements for the program to allow more borrowers to qualify for forgiveness, but it's a limited-time offer. Interested borrowers must apply before Oct. 31 if they want to take advantage of the temporary flexibility.
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A parent with parent PLUS loans for their child may qualify for debt relief if they meet the income eligibility criteria.
Private loans aren’t eligible for any forgiveness.
How can I tell if I had a Pell Grant?
Create an account (an FSA ID) at StudentAid.gov or log in if you already have one. Make sure your contact information is accurate. If you’ve forgotten your login information, use the Forgot My Username or Forgot My Password links or go to the tips page for help.
You’re not required to have an FSA ID to apply for forgiveness, but this can be extremely helpful. It’s where for example, you’ll findif you received a Pell Grant while in college.It will also show your loan servicer(s), types of loans you have and what you owe. (If you received a Pell Grant before 1994, that information won't display on StudentAid.gov, but you'll still receive the full benefit. The Department of Education has a record of every Pell Grant award.)
The government will send you updates by email and text message, so make sure tosign up to receive text alerts.
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How long do I have to apply?
The White House says borrowers should apply by mid-November to receive relief before the payment pause expires on Dec. 31.However, the application window will stay open through 2023.
Alert your loan servicer
Make sure your loan servicer has your most current contact information so they can reach you. If you don't know who your servicer is, you canlog into your StudentAid.gov accountand see your servicer(s) in your account dashboard.
Your servicer(s) will process the relief and notify you when the relief has been applied to your account. The White House says most borrowers will see the forgivenessreflected in their accounts within six weeks.
If you still have a balance after debt forgiveness, your monthly payment will be recalculated based on your new balance, potentially reducing your monthly payment. Your loan servicerwill let you know whatyour new payment amount is.
How doIapply for student loan forgiveness?
Borrowers will have to provide their Social Security number andbirthdate to applybut won't need to upload any documentation or have an FSA ID to submit their applications.
Initially, the application will be available only online. A paper version will be made available later.
As many as 8 millionborrowers will receive automatic forgiveness because the federal governmentalready has their income and loan information – if they don't opt out.The department uses Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, and income-driven repayment application information to identify those borrowers – or, as appropriate, parents – who have submitted income data for tax years 2020 or 2021.
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Can I get a refund ofpast student loan payments?
Yes, borrowers may be eligible for refunds, but only if they made payments during the pandemic that brought their balance below the relief they would be eligible to receive. So if you had $11,000 in debt before March 13, 2020, and paid it down to $9,000, you could receive a $1,000 refund.
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Which loans are eligible for forgiveness?
Federally held subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, parent PLUS loans, and graduate PLUS loans are eligible. Consolidated loans also qualify for relief as long as all the combined loans that are federally held were taken outon or before June 30.
Last week, the Education Departmentsaid borrowers with Federal Family Education Loansthatare commercially held can no longer apply for debt relief by consolidating their loans into the Direct Loan program. But they will be eligibleif the loans were consolidatedbefore Sept. 29.
When asked about the Federal Family Education Loans borrowers who no longer qualify for the program, Jean-Pierre said the goal has always been to get relief to borrowers as fast as possible.
“This change helps us achieve that,” she said.
Asking forgiveness: Do you have student debt? Here are ways to get loan forgiveness under new federal rules
It's complicated: Student loan forgiveness reality check: Paperwork hurdles, legal challenges could complicate relief
Is this for real?
Several lawsuits claim the loan forgiveness plan is harmful or that the president is overstepping his authority. Any one of them has the potential to block the plan or delay it.
Jean-Pierre said she couldn’t say if there would be additional changes to the program that would further winnow the pool of eligible borrowers and serve tocircumvent a lawsuit.
She did say it was “unfortunate” that some people in Republican states were making it more difficult to give “a little bit of a breathing room to working Americans.”
