If you are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. Keep reading to see whether you might qualify.
The PSLF Program forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Help Tool
The PSLF Help Tool will
- help you understand more about PSLF and TEPSLF and what you need to do to participate and possibly have your loans forgiven;
- help you assess whether your employer qualifies for PSLF;
- help you assess whether your loans qualify for PSLF; and
- use the information we have about your federal student loans to explain other actions you should or must take if you want to receive PSLF or TEPSLF.
At this time, the PSLF Help Tool won’t allow you or your employer to electronically sign the form that the tool will generate for you. Therefore, after you complete the PSLF Help Tool process, you will need to print the PDF document that the tool generates, sign it yourself, have your employer sign it, and then submit the form to the PSLF servicer as instructed on the printed PDF document.
Use the PSLF Help Tool to search for a qualifying employer, learn what actions you may need to take to be eligible for PSLF or TEPSLF, and generate the form you need.
PSLF Form Process
After you submit a PSLF Form, your loans will transfer to the PSLF servicer. After the PSLF servicer determines how many qualifying payments you made during the employment period on your form, you’ll receive a letter telling you the number of qualifying payments you have made.
The number of qualifying payments you have made will only be updated whenever you submit another PSLF form that documents a new period of qualifying employment.
Employment Certification
Your employment can be certified by an official who has access to your employment or service records and is authorized by your employer to certify your employment or your service as an AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteer. This will often be someone in the human resources department, though in some cases your direct supervisor or another individual may be authorized to certify your employment. Check with your organization to see who is allowed to certify your PSLF Form.
Tax on Forgiveness
Amounts forgiven under the PSLF Program are not considered income by the Internal Revenue Service. Therefore, you will not have to pay federal income tax on the amount of your Direct Loans that is forgiven.