By October 19, 2022 Member resources
Updated 11/15/22
The student loan debt relief program is currently on hold due to federal court orders and legal challenges. The federal government is no longer accepting applications at this time. If you already applied, your application has been retained and you can check the status of the program at studentaid.gov.
Original post
The online application for student loan debt relief is now available and paper applications will be available soon. To increase the potential of receiving the relief prior to student loan payments resuming on January 1, 2023, apply right away.
The application is quick, asking for contact and identification information, along with an agreement to complete. You can access the application at studentaid.gov. Per information on the federal website, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been actively repaying your loans or are in school, a grace period or default.
Student Loan Debt Relief applies to borrowers who have a maximum Adjusted Gross Income up to $125,000 or $250,000 in 2020 or 2021, depending on your tax filing status, and have federal student loans that were obtained prior to June 30, 2022. There is one exception for recent student loan consolidations that included FFEL or Perkins loans not held by the Department of Education, as long as you applied for consolidation before September 29, 2022. For detailed information about the Student Loan Debt Relief please visit studentaid.gov.
The relief will not be taxable at the federal level due to a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act, however it can be subject to state income tax. Washington State does not have a state income tax.
Avoid Fraud!
- You do not need to pay fees for any programs offered by the Department of Education. If someone is trying to charge you money, they are not affiliated with the federal department.
- Do not share you FSA student ID with anyone.
- Look closely at email to ensure it has come from the “real” Department of Education. Fraudsters like to trick you into clicking links or giving information through a fraudulent email. The Department of Education uses these email addresses: noreply@studentaid.gov, noreply@debtrelief.studentaid.gov, and ed.gov@public.govdelivery.com
Authored by Charnell Morud, Verity’s financial coach