10 ways to qualify for student loan forgiveness | Earnest

10 types of student loan forgiveness you could earn as a federal borrower

By Kassondra Cloos | Published on July 17, 2026

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One of the biggest perks of borrowing from the U.S. Department of Education is the potential for student debt relief. But in recent years, many of the pathways to student loan forgiveness and cancellation have narrowed.

If you qualify for student loan forgiveness, it can lift a massive financial burden from your shoulders. The only downside is that you’ll have to jump through some hoops—and wait a decade or more—to earn it.  If you don’t qualify for forgiveness, or if you discover you could save more money by paying off your loans early, there are other options to make the process go a little more smoothly. Here’s what you need to know.

What's changed in 2026? What happened to IDR forgiveness and SAVE?

Given all the changes to the student loan landscape over the past few years, you might be suffering from a diagnosable case of policy whiplash. You’re not the only one.

When the Trump Administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill passed in 2025, it rolled back several repayment plans and protections that borrowers had counted on for years. Court proceedings have also nixed Biden-era promises, leaving some borrowers feeling like they’d had the rug pulled out from under them. While there still may be changes yet to come, here’s where things stand now:

Student loan forgiveness vs cancellation/discharge: What’s the difference?

The federal government usually refers to “forgiveness” as a type of debt relief granted to borrowers who take intentional steps to earn it. There are two main ways to get debt forgiveness as a federal student loan borrower:

Conversely, the U.S. Department of Education typically uses the term “discharge” when it cancels debt as a result of some kind of mishap or serious hardship, including:

For the purposes of this article, we’ll use “forgiveness” and “cancellation” interchangeably, because the impact for you as a borrower is the same—if your loans are “forgiven” or “canceled,” you no longer have a balance due, as if that debt has disappeared.

What student loan forgiveness programs are still available in 2026?

In general, you can receive total or partial student loan cancellation if you complete a forgiveness plan (such as PSLF) or if you are unable to pay your loans in full due to circumstances outside your control.

Additionally, your loans may be discharged if you borrowed funds on behalf of a child who has died or become disabled, or if you don’t repay your loans within 20 to 30 years while on an income-driven repayment plan.

Income-driven repayment plan forgiveness

Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans are designed to help manage federal student loan payments based on a borrower’s income and family size. If borrowers have remaining balances on their loans after making payments for 20 to 30 years, depending on the specific plan, the remaining balance may be eligible for forgiveness. Note: As of 2026, the forgiven balance will be taxed as income in the year it is received.

The amount of forgiveness under IDR plans depends on the plan selected by the borrower and other factors such as income, family size, and loan balance. For example, the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan provides forgiveness for the remaining loan balance after 20 years of qualifying payments. However, the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan provides forgiveness after 25 years and bases payments on discretionary income.

Here’s how each plan breaks down:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

The PSLF program provides loan forgiveness to individuals who work in public service and meet specific requirements. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is the most common way student loan borrowers get their loans forgiven. This is also one of the few ways to earn tax-free loan forgiveness.

Who qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness in 2026?

Teacher Loan Forgiveness

Teacher Loan Forgiveness is a federal program designed to provide loan forgiveness to teachers who work in low-income schools. Through this program, eligible teachers can have up to $17,500 of their Direct or Federal Stafford Subsidized or Unsubsidized Loans forgiven after completing five consecutive years of teaching at a qualifying school.

Who qualifies for Teacher Loan Forgiveness?

To qualify for teacher loan forgiveness, teachers have to meet certain requirements, such as holding a full-time teaching position in a low-income school or educational service agency for five complete and consecutive years. You also need to be considered a “highly qualified teacher.” The program has specific criteria for who is eligible and what constitutes a low-income school or educational service agency. (You can find those details on the Federal Student Aid website.) It’s important to know, however, that you can’t get credit toward Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF at the same time.

Disability discharge

If you have a total and permanent disability, you may be eligible to have your federal student loans discharged via the Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Discharge program. This program applies to both Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans.

If you meet certain criteria, you can apply for a TPD discharge by completing the application and providing the required documentation. If you are approved for a TPD discharge, you may need to continue submitting documentation during a three-year post-discharge monitoring period. If you take out new student loans during this time, you’ll have to prove that you’re able to once again attend school and work. If you’re successful, your disability discharge will be revoked.

Discharge in cases of unexpected school closure

A closed school discharge is a discharge of federal student loans that were taken out for a program of study, but couldn’t be benefited from because the school closed while the borrower was enrolled or shortly after they withdrew. The Department of Education offers this discharge to provide relief for borrowers who were unable to complete their studies and, as a result, couldn’t benefit from the student loans they took out.

To be eligible for a closed school discharge, you have to meet specific requirements, such as not completing your program because your school closed and not transferring your credits to another institution that offers the same program of study. You must also have been enrolled in the closed school within the timeframe listed in the Department of Education regulations.

If you’re eligible for a closed school discharge, you may have your loan discharged entirely or receive a refund of any payments made on the loan. It’s important to note that not all loans are eligible for a closed school discharge, and this process only applies to federal student loans. Some types of closed school discharge are automatic; others require an application.

Discharge in cases of being misled by your school

Federal loans come with protections that can help you get your student loans discharged if you borrowed money to attend a school that misled you. For example, a few years ago, the Biden Administration canceled loans for 1,200 students who attended the University of Phoenix between 2012 and 2014. The university had run a national ad campaign advertising partnerships with American corporations that could provide professional opportunities to students, when they actually didn’t offer those benefits to students.

Here are the types of forgiveness you could qualify for if you were misled by your school:

Parent loan forgiveness

Parent borrowers who take out Parent PLUS Loans to fund their children’s education are also eligible for loan forgiveness under certain circumstances. In general, they’re eligible for the same discharges as student borrowers, such as:

Additionally, Parent PLUS Loans will be canceled if the parent or student dies, or if the parent qualifies for bankruptcy discharge. Unfortunately, Parent PLUS Loans that weren’t successfully incorporated into a Direct Consolidation Loan before July 1, 2026 aren’t eligible for PSLF or IDR forgiveness.

Discharge in cases of identity theft

A forgery loan discharge is the discharge of student loans that were borrowed through forgery or identity theft. If your identity was stolen and used to borrow student loans that you never received or benefited from, you may be eligible to apply for a forgery discharge. This discharge is different from other types of loan discharges and requires a separate application.

The Higher Education Act (HEA) regulations provide loan discharges for unauthorized signatures on loan application documents, promissory notes, loan checks, and electronic funds transfers. These regulations apply to Direct Loans as well as Perkins and FFEL Loans held by the U.S. Department of Education. Learn more about applying for forgery discharge.

Bankruptcy discharge

Discharging student loans in bankruptcy can be challenging but not impossible. To do it, you’ll need to file an “adversary proceeding” within bankruptcy court.

During this proceeding, you’ll have to demonstrate that repaying their student loans would cause an “undue hardship” on yourself and your dependents. The specific criteria for proving undue hardship might be different based on the jurisdiction, but it typically involves demonstrating three factors:

Remember that meeting the undue hardship standard can be challenging, and not all borrowers are successful.

Discharge due to death

If a federal student loan borrower dies, their loans can be discharged after proof of death has been submitted. This applies to both parents and students: if a parent borrower takes out a Parent Plus Loan, their loan will be discharged in the event of the death of either the parent or student. Most other student loans will only be discharged if the student borrower has died.

When does refinancing make more sense than waiting for forgiveness?

Over the last few years, student loan forgiveness has become more strictly guarded. It’s harder to qualify for and harder to earn. Plus, if you do manage to get your debt cancelled, there’s now a good chance you’ll get stuck with a hefty tax bill.

Given all these changes, is student loan forgiveness still worth pursuing? For some borrowers, it is. If you qualify for PSLF or if you have clear grounds for discharge—like school closure or permanent disability—student loan forgiveness could save you a big chunk of change on a relatively short timeline with no tax penalty. But if you’re holding out for forgiveness through an income-driven repayment plan, you could have a long road ahead of you.

It might sound counterintuitive, but waiting for student loan forgiveness can actually be more expensive than paying off your loans early. If you get stuck with a RAP plan, you could end up making 30 years worth of payments—which means 30 years worth of interest. If your remaining balance at that point is less than that excess interest, you’ll pay more over the long run.

The case for payoff is even stronger if you qualify for refinancing. With refinancing, you swap out your current loans for a single new loan with a private servicer. If you meet your lender’s eligibility requirements, you could also secure a lower interest rate—which could save you even more money over time. That could make it a good choice for borrowers with good credit and stable income who don’t qualify for big payment reductions under IDR plans anyway.

To recap:

Student loan forgiveness could make sense for you if:

Refinancing may be a better bet if:

The math can be tough to eyeball. If you’re not sure which option could net you the most savings, try plugging your details into an online tool like Payoff Path. Payoff Path takes your loan info and runs a quick analysis to determine which repayment route could save you the most money over time. It then shows you all your options in an easy-to-read dashboard—making it way easier to compare, contrast, and pick the best path forward.

How do I apply for student loan forgiveness/cancellation?

Each type of loan and repayment plan has a different process for forgiveness. You can consult StudentAid.gov for detailed information about each plan, or you can call your loan servicer (the company managing your federal debt).

What happens if my application is approved?

What happens after you apply for forgiveness depends on whether you’re eligible for partial or total cancellation of your remaining debt. If your whole loan is forgiven, that’s it—you’re done, and you don’t need to make any more payments. Your loan servicer will typically issue you a payoff letter between 20 and 45 days after making your final payment. The letter will confirm that the loan has been paid off in full.

If you have only received partial forgiveness, however—such as for one loan out of several that you borrowed—you will need to keep making payments until those loans are either paid off in full or eligible for forgiveness.

What should I do if my application is denied?

If your application is denied, you should keep paying your loans until you hear otherwise. It’s possible that you haven’t made enough qualifying payments, or that previous payments weren’t successfully counted. If you suspect there was an error, reach out to your loan servicer. They may be willing to make changes if you can provide proof of uncounted payments.