Think you’re stuck with student loans forever? 13 ways they could be forgiven or discharged

If you’re still carrying federal student loan debt, don’t assume you’ll necessarily be making payments until every last dollar is gone.

The federal student loan system changed significantly in 2026, including the introduction of a new income-driven Repayment Assistance Plan. At the same time, longstanding programs can still forgive or discharge debt for borrowers who work in public service, teach in certain schools, become totally and permanently disabled, were misled by their college, or meet other specific requirements.

The rules can be complicated, and private student loans generally aren’t covered by these federal programs. But if you have federal loans, it’s worth knowing which options may apply to you.

Here are 13 circumstances that could potentially reduce or eliminate some or all of your federal student loan debt.

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1. You reach the forgiveness point on an income-driven repayment plan

Income-driven repayment, or IDR, ties monthly payments to income rather than simply dividing your loan balance over a fixed number of years.

For borrowers with older federal loans, the Income-Based Repayment plan can provide discharge after 20 or 25 years of qualifying repayment, depending on when you borrowed. PAYE and ICR remain available to certain borrowers with loans made before July 1, 2026, but both programs are scheduled to end no later than July 1, 2028.

Which plan you’re eligible for depends on your loan type and when the loans were disbursed, so borrowers shouldn’t assume that a plan available to someone else is necessarily available to them.

2. You enroll in the new Repayment Assistance Plan

One of the biggest student loan changes of 2026 is the new Repayment Assistance Plan, commonly called RAP.

Under RAP, monthly payments generally range from 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income, divided over 12 months. Borrowers also receive a $50 monthly payment reduction for each dependent claimed on their federal tax return, although the minimum monthly payment is $10.

RAP also addresses a frustrating feature of older repayment systems: watching your balance grow even while you’re making required payments. When an on-time RAP payment doesn’t cover all of the month’s interest, the remaining unpaid interest is waived. If the payment reduces principal by less than $50, the government can also contribute enough to bring that month’s principal reduction up to $50.

If a balance remains after 360 qualifying monthly payments—30 years—it can be discharged.

There is an important catch: Parent PLUS loans, including consolidation loans that repaid Parent PLUS debt, aren’t eligible for RAP.

3. You work in public service for 10 years

Public Service Loan Forgiveness remains one of the most important federal forgiveness programs.

Borrowers with eligible Direct Loans can have their remaining balance forgiven after making 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer.

That can include federal, state, local and tribal government organizations as well as many nonprofit organizations. Military service, Peace Corps and AmeriCorps service can also qualify.

Your job title isn’t necessarily what determines eligibility. The employer matters. Someone doing accounting, communications or IT for a qualifying nonprofit, for example, may potentially qualify just as a teacher or social worker can.

Borrowers pursuing PSLF should periodically submit the PSLF form so their qualifying employment and payment progress are documented rather than waiting until year 10 to discover a problem.

4. You teach for five years in certain low-income schools

Teachers have another potential route to forgiveness.

Under Teacher Loan Forgiveness, eligible teachers who work full time for five complete and consecutive academic years at qualifying low-income schools or educational service agencies may receive up to $17,500 in federal loan forgiveness.

The maximum amount isn’t available to every teacher. Eligibility and the amount forgiven depend partly on the borrower’s qualifications and teaching assignment.

There’s another important wrinkle: borrowers generally can’t count the same period of teaching service toward both Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Teachers should therefore compare the programs before deciding which route makes the most financial sense.

5. You become totally and permanently disabled

Federal student loans can be discharged when a borrower meets the government’s definition of total and permanent disability.

Eligibility can be established through certain determinations from the Department of Veterans Affairs or Social Security Administration, or through certification from an authorized medical professional.

The disability can be physical or mental, but it must meet specific federal requirements involving the borrower’s ability to engage in substantial gainful activity.

Some eligible borrowers are identified automatically through government data matching, while others must apply and provide documentation. Depending on the circumstances, a borrower may also be subject to post-discharge monitoring.

This is much more specific than simply having a serious medical condition, so borrowers should check the current Total and Permanent Disability requirements before assuming they qualify.

6. Your school misled you or engaged in serious misconduct

Borrower defense to repayment may provide relief to some people whose schools deceived them or engaged in misconduct related to their federal loans or education.

This isn’t simply a remedy for being unhappy with a college, regretting your degree or failing to find a high-paying job afterward.

Borrowers generally need to demonstrate conduct that meets the legal requirements for borrower defense. Evidence can include enrollment materials, emails, advertisements, contracts and other records showing what the school represented.

If you believe your college seriously misrepresented its program, costs, accreditation, employment prospects or other material facts, it may be worth investigating whether borrower defense applies.

7. Your school closed before you could finish

Imagine investing years in a degree only to have the school shut its doors before you can complete it.

Federal borrowers may qualify for a closed school discharge if their school closes while they’re enrolled or within a qualifying period after they withdraw.

Eligibility depends on the circumstances, including when you attended, when you withdrew and whether you completed the program elsewhere.

The rules are designed to prevent borrowers from being left with federal debt for an education they were unable to finish because their institution disappeared.

8. Your school failed to return money it owed

There’s a lesser-known discharge that can apply when a school doesn’t properly return federal loan money.

If you withdraw from school, federal rules may require the institution to return a portion of your loan funds. When the school fails to do that, you may be eligible for an unpaid refund discharge covering the portion that should have been returned.

This doesn’t necessarily erase the entire loan. Instead, it can eliminate the amount you shouldn’t have owed in the first place.

Parent PLUS borrowers may also qualify in appropriate circumstances.

9. Someone fraudulently took out a student loan in your name

Identity theft can reach student loans, too.

Federal rules provide potential discharge when a loan was falsely certified as a result of identity theft or when someone forged the borrower’s signature or otherwise fraudulently obtained the loan.

The precise documentation required depends on the type of claim, so don’t assume a particular document—such as a police report or handwriting sample—is always sufficient or always required.

If a federal student loan appears on your record that you never authorized, contact your loan servicer and Federal Student Aid rather than simply treating it as another identity-theft item on your credit report.

10. You prove repaying the loans would create undue hardship in bankruptcy

You’ve probably heard that student loans can never be eliminated in bankruptcy.

That’s not quite true.

Federal student loans aren’t automatically discharged in an ordinary bankruptcy case, but borrowers can ask the bankruptcy court to discharge them by bringing a separate proceeding and demonstrating that repayment would impose an undue hardship.

The Department of Justice and Department of Education now use a standardized process intended to make these cases more consistent and to help government attorneys identify circumstances in which discharge is appropriate.

Bankruptcy remains a serious legal and financial decision, and student loan discharge is not guaranteed. But borrowers in severe financial distress shouldn’t assume the courthouse door is automatically closed.

11. You’re a Parent PLUS borrower and something went seriously wrong

Parent PLUS borrowers have fewer income-driven repayment choices under the new rules, but that doesn’t mean they have no discharge protections.

Federal Parent PLUS debt may potentially be discharged in circumstances involving the death of the parent borrower or the student for whom the loan was taken out, qualifying total and permanent disability of the parent borrower, bankruptcy with a finding of undue hardship, certain school closures, false certification, identity theft or an unpaid school refund.

Parent PLUS borrowers should pay particular attention to the new repayment rules. Parent PLUS loans are not eligible for the new Repayment Assistance Plan—even when certain Parent PLUS debt has been consolidated.

That makes it especially important to check your exact loan type before choosing a repayment strategy.

12. You serve in the military

Military service can open several doors for federal student loan borrowers, although serving doesn’t automatically erase student debt.

Full-time military service is qualifying government employment for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, meaning eligible borrowers can work toward the required 120 qualifying payments while serving.

Service members may also have access to other federal protections or military-specific repayment benefits, including interest-rate protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and certain Department of Defense repayment programs.

The exact benefits depend on the borrower’s loans, military status and circumstances, so service members should review the benefits attached to their particular type of service rather than assuming all military borrowers receive the same loan relief.

13. You serve with the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps

You don’t necessarily have to work in a conventional government office to qualify as a public servant.

The Peace Corps and AmeriCorps are considered qualifying government employers for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. That means eligible full-time service can count toward the 120-payment requirement when the borrower also satisfies the program’s other rules.

For borrowers considering public-service careers, that’s an important distinction: PSLF is based primarily on who employs you and whether you satisfy the loan and repayment requirements—not whether your job sounds like a traditional “public service” occupation.

Student loan repayment changed significantly in 2026

The new rules make it especially important not to rely on student loan advice you read several years ago.

Beginning July 1, 2026, borrowers gained access to RAP and the new Tiered Standard repayment plan. For RAP, monthly payments are income-based, remaining unpaid monthly interest is waived when required payments are made on time, and qualifying borrowers can receive the government’s monthly principal-matching benefit.

Borrowers with older loans may still have access to other income-driven plans for now, but PAYE and ICR are scheduled to disappear no later than July 1, 2028.

Even the date you borrowed can now dramatically change your choices. Borrowers whose loans were all disbursed on or after July 1, 2026, generally have RAP as their income-driven option, while people with older loans may have additional choices.

That’s why two borrowers earning exactly the same salary and owing exactly the same amount could still have different repayment options.

Before assuming you’re stuck with your student loans

The most important first step is surprisingly simple: find out exactly what loans you have.

Log into your Federal Student Aid account and look at the loan type, disbursement dates, repayment plan and current status. Then compare that information with the eligibility requirements for any forgiveness or discharge program that appears relevant.

Don’t pay a company simply because it promises access to a “secret” government forgiveness program. Federal applications and information are available through Federal Student Aid, and legitimate eligibility ultimately depends on federal rules—not what a debt-relief advertisement promises.

And remember that forgiveness, cancellation and discharge aren’t interchangeable with simply getting a lower monthly payment. A repayment plan can make your payments more manageable without necessarily eliminating your debt.

The federal student loan system remains complicated. But complicated isn’t the same as hopeless. If you’re carrying federal student debt, knowing which rules apply to your particular loans could make an enormous difference in what you ultimately have to repay.

Reader question

If you still have student loan debt, did you know there were this many potential paths to forgiveness or discharge?

Official student loan resources

• Federal Student Aid: Student loan forgiveness and discharge options — Overview of federal forgiveness and discharge programs.

• Federal Student Aid: Income-driven repayment plans — Check income-driven repayment options and eligibility.

• U.S. Department of Education: 2026 repayment changes and RAP — Official explanation of the Repayment Assistance Plan and other 2026 changes.

• Federal Student Aid: Public Service Loan Forgiveness — PSLF requirements and application information.

• Federal Student Aid: Teacher Loan Forgiveness — Eligibility information for Teacher Loan Forgiveness.

• Federal Student Aid: Total and Permanent Disability discharge — Eligibility and application information for TPD discharge.

• Federal Student Aid: Borrower defense to repayment — Information for borrowers whose schools engaged in qualifying misconduct.

• Federal Student Aid: Closed school discharge — Relief information for borrowers whose schools closed.

• Federal Student Aid account login — Check federal loan types, balances, servicer information and repayment status.

• Federal Student Aid: Repayment plans — Compare federal student loan repayment options.