Millions of student loan borrowers were devastated when the Supreme Court struck down President Biden's one-time student loan forgiveness initiative in 2023. However, the Biden administration is still working toward finding ways to offer relief to those repaying federal student loans.

Most recently, the Biden administration announced March 21 that $5.8 billion in student loan debt would be canceled for over 78,000 borrowers under the public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program.

On Feb. 21, the White House announced Biden canceled $1.2 billion in federal student loans for 153,000 student loan borrowers. These borrowers were enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, borrowed $12,000 or less in federal student loans, and have been in repayment for at least 10 years. The Department of Education also announced plans to reach out to borrowers eligible for early relief but not currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan at the end of February.

If you have federal student loans but weren't impacted by the most recent round of loan forgiveness, there still may be an opportunity to eliminate or reduce your loans.

Federal loan forgiveness programs

Federal loan forgiveness programs are for existing borrowers who earn forgiveness through their employment or payment history. Currently, there are four active programs:

• Income-Driven Repayment (IDR): If borrowers who enrolled in IDR plans have a loan balance at the end of their 20- or 25-year loan term, the government forgives the remaining amount of debt.

  • SAVE, the most recent IDR plan, calculates your monthly payment amount based on your income and family size. SAVE lowers payments for almost all borrowers in comparison to other IDR plans as repayment amounts are based on a smaller portion of adjusted gross income. Some SAVE enrollees could reach forgiveness in as little as 10 years if they borrowed $12,000 or less in federal student loans.

• Perkins Loan Forgiveness: Borrowers with Perkins Loans can qualify for up to 100% forgiveness of their loans based on their employment. Teachers, first responders, and some volunteer workers are eligible.

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): PSLF is a program for nonprofit and government employees who work in public service for at least 10 years and make 120 monthly payments. Under PSLF, payments made under an IDR plan are qualifying payments.

• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: Elementary and secondary school teachers who work in low-income schools can qualify for up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness after five years of service.

Who qualifies for student loan forgiveness?

What loan forgiveness programs are available to you depends on the type of loans you have and your employment:

Borrowers enrolled in Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)

If you have federal Direct Loans, you can enroll in an IDR plan to reduce your monthly payment. And if you still owe money at the end of your new loan term, the remainder is discharged through IDR forgiveness.

If you have Parent PLUS Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs), or Perkins Loans, you aren't eligible for IDR forgiveness with your loans in their current form. However, you may be able to gain eligibility by consolidating your loans with a federal Direct Consolidation Loan.

Important: Borrowers working toward forgiveness via the IDR or PSLF programs may be eligible for a one-time payment count adjustment. This adjustment can retroactively count payments that were previously deemed ineligible, bringing millions of people closer to qualifying for forgiveness. For most people, this adjustment will be completed automatically. However, borrowers with privately held FFEL Loans, Perkins Loans, or Health Education Assistance Loans (HEAL) must consolidate their debt by April 30, 2024 to qualify for an adjustment. Learn more on the Federal Student Aid site.

Teachers

If you are an elementary or secondary school teacher, you may be eligible for one or more of the following programs:

• Teacher Loan Forgiveness: You can qualify for Teacher Loan Forgiveness if you teach for five full and consecutive years at a qualifying low-income school or education service agency. The total amount of forgiveness depends on your subject, but it ranges from $5,000 to $17,500.

• Perkins Loan Forgiveness: If you teach in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school, a portion of your debt will be forgiven for each year of service, up to 100% of your total balance over five years.

• PSLF: PSLF doesn't require teachers to work for public schools; you can qualify as long as you work for a nonprofit organization, including private schools. If you work for 10 years for a qualifying employer and make 120 qualifying monthly payments, the remainder of your loans are forgiven.

Service members and first responders

If you are a firefighter, law enforcement officer or served in the U.S. Armed Forces, you may be eligible for one of the following loan forgiveness programs:

• Perkins Loan Forgiveness: Firefighters and law enforcement officers can have up to 100% of their outstanding Perkins loans forgiven after five years of service. Military service members can get up to 100% of their loans forgiven if they serve for five years and their active duty service includes or began on or after Aug. 14, 2008.

• PSLF: Firefighters, police officers, military service members, and civilian military employees are eligible for PSLF if they work full-time for at least 10 years while making 120 monthly qualifying payments.

Government and public service workers

Government employees and public service workers, including public defenders and prosecutors, public library librarians, and emergency management workers, can qualify for Perkins Loan Forgiveness and PSLF.

• Perkins Loan Forgiveness: After five years of service, public service workers can qualify for forgiveness of up to 100% of their loans.

• PSLF: Those who work full-time for at least 10 years and make 120 qualifying payments can qualify for PSLF.

Nonprofit organization employees

If you work for a nonprofit organization, you are eligible for PSLF. Under the rules of PSLF, it doesn't matter what your role is; even if you don't have a position that provides direct service to the public — for example, if you are a gardener, cook, marketing professional, or accountant — you can qualify for loan forgiveness. PSLF eligibility is based on your employer's status rather than your position.

You can qualify for loan forgiveness after working full-time for at least 10 years while making 120 qualifying payments. You don't have to work for the same employer for the entire 10 years; if you work for several nonprofits over the years, your time with each employer can count toward the time needed for forgiveness.

Healthcare workers

• Perkins: Full-time nurses, medical technicians, providers of early intervention services for the disabled and speech pathologists and can qualify for forgiveness of up to 100% of their loans after five years of service.

• PSLF: Physicians, nurses, medical technicians, and healthcare administrators can qualify for PSLF as long as they work full-time for a nonprofit hospital, university, or health clinic.

AmeriCorps or Peace Corps volunteers

If you volunteered through AmeriCorps or the Peace Corps, you can qualify for the Perkins Loan Forgiveness program. Perkins Loan Forgiveness will eliminate a percentage of your debt for each year of service:

• 15% of your outstanding debt for the first year of eligible service

• 15% of your outstanding debt for the second year of eligible service

• 20% of your outstanding debt for the third and fourth years of eligible service

Loan discharge programs

Loan forgiveness can be earned through employment or by making payments toward your debt for a specific period. But in some cases, you can qualify for a student loan discharge because of circumstances outside of your control, such as a disability or school closure.

How much of your loans can be forgiven and the qualifying circumstances vary by loan type:

• Bankruptcy Discharge: If you declare bankruptcy and file an adversary proceeding action — basically, a complaint asking the court to rule on a specific issue — the court may rule that repaying the loans would cause you undue financial hardship. If that's the case, the loans will be discharged.

• Borrower Defense to Repayment: If you took out loans to attend a college that misled you or engaged in misconduct, including violating federal or state laws, Direct Loan borrowers may be eligible for Borrower Defense to Repayment.

• Closed School Discharge: If your college closed while you were in school or within 180 days of your withdrawal date, you could qualify for discharge of up to 100% of your loan balance.

• Death Discharge: If you pass away — or the student on whose behalf you took out a PLUS Loan dies — the remaining balance is discharged.

• False Certification Discharge: If a school falsely certified your eligibility for loans — such as a school stating that you graduated from high school when you haven't earned a diploma — false certification discharge can eliminate your debt.

• Total and Permanent Disability Discharge: If you become totally and permanently disabled, the government will discharge up to 100% of your outstanding federal loans.

Stuck with private student loans with high interest rates? Refinancing your private student loans could mean lower monthly payments and paying less interest overall.

This article was edited by Rebecca McCracken