By: Hailee Langowski 

According to a new plan presented by President Joe Biden in late August, student loan borrowers who meet certain requirements may soon have their debt forgiven. 

Not all student loan debtors are eligible for debt reduction. Only federally owned student loans that qualify. Private student debts are not covered under the plan. 

High-income borrowers are “generally excluded from receiving debt forgiveness,” according to CNN’s Katie Lobosco, in her article “Everything you need to know about Biden’s student loan forgiveness program”. 

 If a borrower earns less than $125,000 per year as an individual; or $250,000 per year as the head of a household or married couple, up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt may be forgiven

A borrower is qualified for up to $20,000 in debt forgiveness if they also obtained a federal Pell Grant while attending college. 

The borrower’s adjusted gross income for the 2020 or 2021 tax year determines eligibility.

Through the Department of Education’s subscription website, you may sign up to get an email notification when the application becomes available https://www.ed.gov/subscriptions.

Note the following four future dates for the cancellation of student loans: 

• The release of the Student Forgiveness Application is scheduled for “early October.” Subscribing to the Department of Education’s website can allow you to receive information as it is available. 

• Whether or not you qualify for automatic forgiveness, the Department of Education encourages you to submit an application before November 15, 2022. It can ensure that your debt is discharged before regular payments restart and interest starts to collect once again.

• Forgiveness should take between four and six weeks to take effect. By taking this action, you’ll ensure that your debt is paid off before regular payments resume and interest begins to accrue again on January 1, 2023. If you don’t pay off the whole sum, interest will again start to accrue on the remaining balance.

• The deadline for applying for student debt cancellation is December 31, 2023.