Teacher Loan Forgiveness

• You must have been employed full-time as a teacher for five complete and consecutive academic years. At least one of those years must have been after the 1997-98 academic year.

• You must have been employed in a an elementary or secondary school that meet all of the following:

  • is in a school district that qualifies for funds under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended;

  • has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education based on a determination that more than 30 percent of the school's total enrollment is made up of children who qualify for services provided under Title I; and

  • is listed in the Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits  this link will open in a new window or is operated by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

• Your teaching service may qualify if the consecutive five-year period includes qualifying service performed after the 2007-08 academic year at an eligible educational service agency.

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness application calls for consecutive, complete academic years of service for forgiveness. However, applicants who were unable to teach during a period of officially-declared natural disasters Hurricane Maria and/or Hurricane Irma, are allowed up to a one-year gap in service. The one-year gap in service is September 2017 thru September 2018.

This waiver applies for Teacher Loan Forgiveness applicants residing or working in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (PR) or the Virgin Islands of the United States (VI) affected by the officially-declared natural disaster Hurricane Maria and Teacher Loan Forgiveness applicants residing/working in the VI affected by the officially-declared natural disaster Hurricane Irma. This relief/wavier is available as part of the enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Public Law No: 115-123.

You must not have had an outstanding balance on Direct Loans or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans as of Oct. 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan after Oct. 1, 1998.

You are not eligible for forgiveness of any defaulted federal student loan unless you have made satisfactory repayment arrangements with the holder of the defaulted loans.

The loan(s) for which you are seeking forgiveness must have been made before the end of your five academic years of qualifying teaching service.

Note: Additional eligibility requirements may apply

After you complete the five-year teaching requirement, you can submit a Teacher Loan Forgiveness application. Go to StudentAid.gov/forms  this link will open in a new window to download the form.

As a result of a change in tax law, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined that loan balances that are discharged due to Death are not considered income for federal tax purposes if the discharge occurs during the period from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2025.

If you receive a Form 1099-C, you should keep the form with the borrower’s records, but you do not need to include it when filing the borrower's federal tax return. For additional information, visit irs.gov  this link will open in a new window .

The discharged loan amount may be considered income for state tax purposes. You may want to consult with the state tax office or a tax professional before you file the borrower’s state tax return.