How to check your loan forgiveness status

To find out whether your federal student loans have been forgiven, log into your account on the Federal Student Aid website at studentaid.gov using your FSA ID. Once you're logged in, select "My Aid" and then "Loan Simulator" to see your current loan balance and any forgiveness that has been applied. If your balance shows zero or has dropped significantly, forgiveness has been processed.

You can also contact your loan servicer directly — the company that collects your payments. Your servicer's name and phone number appear on your loan statement or on studentaid.gov. They can tell you exactly what forgiveness program you're enrolled in, how much has been forgiven so far, and when the next forgiveness decision will be made.

If you're waiting on a forgiveness decision from a specific program, the timeline varies. Public Service Loan Forgiveness decisions can take several months after you submit your employment certification form. Income-driven repayment forgiveness happens automatically after 20 or 25 years of payments, depending on your plan — you don't need to do anything once you're enrolled.

Key Takeaways

  • Check your loan balance on studentaid.gov by logging in with your FSA ID to see if forgiveness has been applied.
  • Your loan servicer can tell you which forgiveness program you're in and how much longer you have to wait.
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness requires you to submit an employment certification form and can take months to process.
  • Income-driven repayment forgiveness happens automatically after 20 or 25 years of payments with no action needed from you.
  • Forgiveness programs have different rules about what counts as may have access to employment, income level, or loan type.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness and employment verification

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) forgives the remaining balance on your federal loans after you make 120 may have access to payments while working full-time for a government agency or a nonprofit organization. You don't need to wait for all 120 payments to be made — you can submit your employment certification form (Form 10-93) at any time to have your servicer count your past payments.

When you submit the form, your servicer reviews your employment history to confirm that your employer and your job duties meet PSLF rules. This review can take two to four months. If your employment is verified, your servicer will count those payments toward the 120 required. You'll receive a letter showing how many may have access to payments you've made so far.

Once you reach 120 may have access to payments, submit another employment certification form. Your servicer will then review your final employment and, if everything checks out, forgive the remaining loan balance within two to three months. The forgiveness amount is not taxed as income.

Income-driven repayment forgiveness after 20 or 25 years

If you're enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan — such as Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), or Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) — your remaining loan balance is forgiven after you make payments for 20 or 25 years. The timeline depends on which plan you're in and when you first borrowed.

You don't need to do anything to receive this forgiveness. Your servicer tracks your payments automatically and will notify you when you're close to reaching the forgiveness date. Once you hit the required number of years, your servicer forgives the remaining balance. Any forgiven amount under income-driven repayment may be treated as taxable income in the year it's forgiven, so you may owe taxes on it.

To confirm how many years you have left, log into studentaid.gov and check your repayment plan. Your loan statement will also show your plan type. If you're unsure whether you're on an income-driven plan, contact your servicer — they can enroll you if you're not already.

Teacher Loan Forgiveness and other profession-based programs

Teacher Loan Forgiveness forgives up to $17,500 of federal loans for teachers who work full-time in low-income schools for five consecutive years. Unlike PSLF, you don't need to make a specific number of payments — you only need to complete the five years of teaching and then request forgiveness.

To use Teacher Loan Forgiveness, you must have taken out your loans before you began teaching, and you cannot have defaulted on any federal loans. You submit your request through your loan servicer, along with a statement from your school confirming your employment and the grades or subjects you taught. Processing typically takes two to four months.

Other profession-based forgiveness programs exist for nurses, doctors, and members of the military, though the rules and amounts vary widely. Check with your employer's human resources department to see whether your profession qualifies for any forgiveness program.

What happens if your loans were discharged or cancelled

Your loans may have been cancelled rather than forgiven through a forgiveness program. Loan discharge happens when you become permanently and totally disabled, when your school closes while you're enrolled or shortly after you withdraw, or when you're defrauded by your school. Discharge also applies to Parent PLUS loans if the parent dies or becomes disabled.

If your loans were discharged, your servicer will have removed them from your account and sent you a discharge notice. The notice explains the reason for the discharge and the date it took effect. You can verify this on studentaid.gov by checking whether those loans still appear in your account.

Discharged loans are not taxed as income. However, if you had already made payments on a discharged loan, you may be may have access to to a refund of those payments. Contact your servicer to request a refund if you believe you paid on a loan that was later discharged.

Loans that don't may have access to for forgiveness programs

Not all student loans are may be able to access for forgiveness. Private student loans, for example, are not covered by any federal forgiveness program. Only federal loans — Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), and Perkins Loans — can be forgiven through government programs.

Even among federal loans, some programs have restrictions. Parent PLUS loans are not may be able to access for income-driven repayment forgiveness, though they may may have access to for PSLF if the parent works in public service. Loans taken out for graduate or professional school have different forgiveness timelines under income-driven plans than undergraduate loans.

If you have a mix of federal and private loans, focus on the federal ones first — they have more forgiveness options. For private loans, contact your lender directly to ask whether they offer any forgiveness or hardship programs, though most do not.

What to do if you haven't received forgiveness you expected

If you believe you should have received forgiveness but your loan balance hasn't changed, start by contacting your servicer. Explain which program you think you may have access to for and ask them to review your account. Bring documentation of your employment, income, or other may have access to factors if you have it.

If your servicer says you don't may have access to, ask them to explain in writing why you don't meet the program's requirements. This gives you a record to reference if you want to dispute the decision or seek help from a student loan ombudsman.

The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group handles complaints about federal student loans at studentaid.gov/feedback-ombudsman. You can file a complaint if you believe your servicer made an error or didn't follow the rules. The ombudsman doesn't charge a fee and can investigate your case.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for forgiveness to show up in my account?

It depends on the program. Public Service Loan Forgiveness can take two to four months after you submit your employment certification form. Income-driven repayment forgiveness happens automatically once you reach the required number of years, usually within one to three months of that date. Your servicer will send you a notice when forgiveness is processed.

Do I have to pay taxes on forgiven student loans?

Federal forgiveness through Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Loan Forgiveness is not taxed. Forgiveness through income-driven repayment plans may be taxed as income in the year it's forgiven, though this varies by situation. Discharged loans are also not taxed. Consult a tax professional about your specific situation.

What if I changed jobs or moved to a different state?

For Public Service Loan Forgiveness, you can work for different may have access to employers as long as all your employers are government agencies or nonprofits. The 120 payments don't have to be consecutive. For Teacher Loan Forgiveness, you need five consecutive years at a low-income school, so a job change resets your timeline.

Can I get forgiveness if I'm in default?

No. You must be current on your payments or in a repayment plan to may have access to for forgiveness programs. If you're in default, contact your servicer about getting out of default first, either through rehabilitation or consolidation, before you can pursue forgiveness.

What if my loan servicer changed?

Your loan history transfers to your new servicer automatically. However, you should log into studentaid.gov to confirm your new servicer's name and contact information. If you were working toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness, your may have access to payments should still be counted — ask your new servicer to verify this in writing.