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Student loan forgiveness applications now online

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Published  October 19, 2022 12:52pm EDT
Consumer
FOX 5 Atlanta

Application for student loan forgiveness program goes online

After a weekend trial, the short form to apply for student loan forgiveness is online for everyone eligible. FOX 5 I-Team's Dana Fowle takes a look at how the process will work.

ATLANTA - Federal student loan forgiveness has begun. The application came online October 17th after a weekend trial of the process to catch glitches. 

The White House announced over the summer that some borrowers can receive up to $20,000 in federal loan forgiveness.

In a recent press briefing, President Biden called this a "game changer" and promised the process would be "short and simple." And folks are saying it only takes minutes. 

The application is on the Department of Education’s website . You go directly there to reach the application, and that process requires little from you. You’ll need your social security number, name, address, and email, but no documents will need to be attached. Although, if the administration comes back later and asks for more verification, you will need to do that. You don’t even need your federal student identification number. 

Here’s a quick look at eligibility. 

For individuals, if you earned less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021 you should apply. For couples that is $250,000.

Sounds like a lot of money, but the White House says 90 percent of people who will get the tab cleared, make less than $70,000 a year. 

Borrowers can qualify for up to $10,000. If you are a Pell Grant recipient, that figure could be up to $20,000. 

Here are deadlines to remember. 

The restart for loan repayments after the long pandemic pause is January 2023. If you believe you are eligible for debt forgiveness, the final deadline is December 31st, 2022. But, apply by November 15th if you want to be sure to have loan forgiveness before January when repayments begin again. 

During the weekend BETA phase or trial phase, it’s estimated that eight million people applied. If you did that, you do not have to re-file again now that the site is officially up and running 

Lawsuits to block this effort do persist. Six GOP-led states are leading the charge. We don’t know yet what will happen, so proceed as normal to get your application started.  

This is the link for that application: STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS.