Teacher Loan Forgiveness
Up to $17,500 for a highly qualified secondary mathematics or science teacher or a special education teacher, or up to $5,000 for other qualifying teachers, after five complete and consecutive years at a low-income school.
What it takes
- Five complete and consecutive academic years of full-time teaching at a school or educational service agency on the Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory.
- A bachelor's degree and full state certification, with no emergency, temporary or provisional waiver.
- No outstanding Direct or FFEL balance as of 1 October 1998, or on the date any later loan was made.
- At least one of the five years after the 1997-98 academic year.
What it does not cover
- Taking this forfeits those same five years for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and the choice cannot be undone. For most teachers who will stay in public education, PSLF is worth considerably more.
- PLUS and Perkins loans are not eligible.
Federally tax-free
Excluded from federal income under section 108(f)(5).
State treatment is separate and this site does not guess at it. Check your state.
Sources
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness, U.S. Department of Education. Checked on . Backs the 120 qualifying payments and which plans qualify; that Tiered Standard payments do not qualify; the qualifying and non-qualifying employer categories; that the vacated employer rule has no effect.
- Teacher Loan Forgiveness, U.S. Department of Education. Checked on . Backs the $17,500 and $5,000 amounts and who each applies to; the five complete and consecutive years requirement; that the same service cannot count towards PSLF.
- Total and Permanent Disability discharge, U.S. Department of Education. Checked on . Backs the three qualification routes; the automatic discharge through quarterly data matches; the three-year monitoring period and that a VA-based discharge has none.
- Closed School discharge, U.S. Department of Education. Checked on . Backs the 180-day window and the automatic discharge one year after closure; the refund of payments and deletion of adverse credit history.
- Court actions affecting income-driven repayment, U.S. Department of Education. Checked on . Backs that the tax exclusion covered discharges from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2025; that a milestone reached before 2026 remains covered if the discharge is processed later.
Checked on .