When Congress passed the CARES Act in 2020, it placed all federally-owned student loans in forbearance, freezing all payments, interest accrual, and income recertifications. That means if you have Direct, Perkins, PLUS, FFEL, or HEAL loans owned by the Dept. of Education, they’re on hold until the end of September 2021. Any privately-held loans, unfortunately, do not count.
If you have student loans and are on an IDR plan, you can likely benefit from the extension. Studentaid.gov says,
“You will not have to recertify your income before the end of the COVID-19 emergency relief period, regardless of whether your recertification date would have happened prior to the end of the relief period. As part of the payment suspension, your recertification date has been pushed out from your original recertification date. You will be notified of your new recertification date before it is time to recertify.”
Join us June 7, 14, 21 & 28 as Joy and Ryan navigate the muddy waters of student debt and how you can “flip the script on student debt.”
The first thing to know is that you have options. Depending on your situation, you may be eligible for various payment plans. That may impact how you decide you and your spouse file your taxes, jointly or separately. The latter may increase your taxes , but depending on your tax situation, it could be offset by savings in loan payments.
At Navigate, we are working to bring our expertise to bear on the injustices of student debt. Earlier this year, the Student Borrower Protection Center wrote powerfully about the ways in which the student debt crisis is a civil rights crisis: “The reality for Black and Latino borrowers who bear the brunt of this debt load and its consequences is even more stark, making student loan debt a key barrier to racial equity.” We have work to do.
If you’re in repayment, it’s likely you have some special forms your loan servicer requires. Unless you’re on the standard 10-year repayment plan, you need to submit an income recertification annually for your income-driven repayment (IDR).
For those pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), you should also be submitting an employer certification form as well so you can track your progress.
Eli Wilson