If you’ve been on track for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), there have been some recent changes that may impact you and could make your life easier.
Some federal loans that were previously ineligible are now eligible for tax-free forgiveness. Your payment history on these loans will count toward the 120 necessary payments.
The most significant change is with FFEL borrowers. In the past, FFEL loans were not considered eligible for PSLF. And the only way to make them eligible was through a direct federal consolidation which erased all prior payment history.
The limited waiver is allowing borrowers with FFEL and Perkins loans to complete a direct federal consolidation and be credited for their past payment history back to October 2007.
This means that if you’ve made any payments on your FFEL or Perkins Loans from October 2007 until now, they will count toward PSLF, as long as you’ve had qualifying employment (full-time at a non-profit or 501(c)(3)).