If you want to get in on the student loan forgiveness, just know it doesn’t happen automatically for everyone. There are some important dates coming up for getting your college debt paid off — and you won’t want to miss a single student loan forgiveness deadline.
In case you’re just catching up, in August 2022 the Biden administration announced a plan to cancel up to $20,000 in debt for individuals making under $125,000. To qualify, loan-holders had to consolidate privately held loans into a direct loan by Sept. 29, 2022.
That was a pretty massive loan forgiveness deadline, but if you still qualify for the program, there are still some big milestones you won’t want to miss. Make sure to mark all these important dates on your calendar:
Oct. 17: The Public Student Loan Forgiveness application goes live.
The Biden administration announced the student debt relief application went live on Oct. 17, 2022, on the Federal Student Aid website. A beta version of the application went live on Oct. 14, and over 8 million Americans got a head start on applying.
Now, the student debt relief application is live for everyone, and it takes about five minutes to fill out. All you will need is your name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, phone number, and email. You won’t need to upload documents or sign in with your Student Aid ID.
Oct. 31, 2022: Public service workers deadline to apply for the PSLF waiver.
If you qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and apply for the limited PSLF waiver by Oct. 31, 2022, you could get all of your student debt canceled — not just $20,000. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the Public Student Loan Forgiveness programs are entirely different.
The Public Student Loan Forgiveness program provides up to $20,000 of relief, and the Public Service program cancels all student debt for qualifying public service workers. If you’re a teacher, nurse, or other public service worker and made 120 student loan payments after Oct. 1, 2007, you can get your student debt erased.
Under the new waiver, more payments count towards the 120 needed for Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program eligibility. Even payments that weren’t made in full or on time still qualify towards the 120.
Here’s what you need to qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program waiver:
- Work for U.S. federal, state, local, tribal, or not-for-profit organizations for ten years (doesn’t have to be consecutive)
- Work full-time for that agency or organization
- Have direct loans (or consolidate federal loans into a direct loan)
- Repay your loans under an income-driven repayment plan
- Have made 120 qualifying payments on the loan(s) after Oct. 1, 2007
Public service workers also have until Oct. 31, 2022, to consolidate their federal loans into a direct loan. (The cutoff for nonpublic service workers was Sept. 29, 2022.) See if you qualify for the PSLF program on their website. And go on the MOHELA website to apply for the waiver.
Related: When will Child Tax Credit payments start up again?
Nov. 15, 2022: Deadline to apply for 2022 student loan forgiveness.
If you want student debt relief by the end of the year, you’ll want to apply by Nov. 15, 2022. This is a really important loan forgiveness deadline to remember — because if you forget it, you may be making unnecessary payments in 2023.
According to Forbes, student loan holders will have one year to apply for debt forgiveness, but since student loan payments resume in January 2023, you’ll want to get this taken care of by the end of the year.
Application processing takes four to six weeks, so to get relief before 2023, get that application in no later than Nov. 15.
Jan. 1, 2023: Student loan payments resume.
For 45% of Americans, the PSLF will zero out their student loan balance, but for the other 55%, they’ll have to start paying again as of Jan. 1, 2023.
Student loan payments (and interest on those payments) have paused since March 2020 — a pandemic-era relief measure — and that pause ends after Dec. 31, 2022.
Related: You Might Get a Fourth Stimulus Check
Dec. 31, 2023: Last day to apply for loan forgiveness.
Nov. 15, 2022, is the last day to apply for forgiveness in 2022. But technically, you have until the end of 2023 to apply for the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program. But why would you want to keep paying your loans (and interest) when you don’t have to?
Bookmark this page to keep up with college loan forgiveness deadlines.
The details of the Student Loan Forgiveness program seem to change daily, so put a pin on this page to keep up with every critical student loan forgiveness deadline.
Tell us what you think