Do You Qualify for Student Loan Forgiveness?

Posted 10/8/2022

As soon as the Department of Education announced a new one-time student loan cancellation based on income, borrowers started asking questions like, “Do I qualify?” and, “How much will be forgiven?”

With 42 million borrowers potentially qualifying, it may be difficult to reach someone to get answers.

That’s where we can help. Student Connections partners with schools to ensure borrowers have all the facts and details about federal student loans.

Here are some simple steps you can take now to prepare.

Steps to Determine Eligibility

Are you eligible for this debt relief? Will you get it automatically or have to apply?

Here are some simple steps to help you learn more:

1. Check the Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) on your 2020 and 2021 tax returns (Line 11 if you completed a 1040 form). NOTE: If you received a federal direct loan and were a dependent student in 2021 or 2022, you are required to use parent income.

2. If your AGI either year is less than $125,000 (individual) or $250,000 (family/head of household), you should qualify.

3. Sign up for email and text alerts through your Federal Student Aid (FSA) account to be notified when the application is available (sometime in October).

4. Keep an eye out for messages from FSA. They will let you know if you automatically qualify. If you don’t, they will notify you when the application is available.

5. Complete the application if you have not yet received notice that you were automatically qualified.

6. Use the lower AGI from 2020 or 2021 when you fill out the application.

Additional Student Loan Debt Relief Details

As part of the debt relief efforts, the payment and interest pause also was extended through Dec. 31, 2022.

You can find all of the details about these changes at StudentAid.gov/loancancellation.

To make sure you receive all of the latest information, update your contact information in your profile on both your loan servicer’s website and on StudentAid.gov.

Need Help?

If you have questions, you can contact your servicer or Student Connections. We work on behalf of schools to provide federal student loan repayment counseling. We can be reached at (866) 311-9450, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. We also can be reached via email at intouch@studentconnections.com.