How to Get Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgiveness

Updated on July 30, 2025

Income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness eliminates your remaining student debt after 20 or 25 years, depending on your plan. But significant changes are coming: by July 2028, current IDR options SAVE, PAYE, IBR, and ICR will be replaced by the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which forgives loans after 30 years.

To benefit from forgiveness, you’ll first enroll in an IDR plan, which takes about 10 minutes via StudentAid.gov/IDR. You’ll have to make qualifying payments while on your IDR and recertify your income at least annually to make sure payments are counted.

Forgiveness under income-driven repayment is automatic after you make your final qualifying monthly payment. You don’t need to submit an additional application. However, you must stay enrolled in an eligible repayment plan to keep earning credit toward forgiveness.

If your loans aren’t already consolidated, you may need to do so first to access these plans and maintain your eligibility. If you believe you’ve already reached the required number of qualifying payments but haven’t received forgiveness, consider filing a complaint with the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Ombudsman.

Which IDR Plan Should I Get?

The best income-driven repayment option today for most borrowers is
Income-Based Repayment (IBR), but it’ll depend on your circumstances and forgiveness goals. Review your options carefully before deciding.

Parent PLUS Borrowers

If your goal is IDR forgiveness, consolidation, and enrollment in an eligible IDR plan, usually Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) —
before July 2026 will preserve your eligibility to transition later into the IBR Plan. Consider your current monthly payments carefully before deciding when to switch to IBR.

SAVE Borrowers

The SAVE plan is no longer providing forgiveness credit due to ongoing legal challenges. If consistent progress toward forgiveness is a priority for you, evaluate whether switching to IBR makes financial sense, keeping in mind your payments under IBR may be higher.

PAYE Borrowers

You’re still earning forgiveness credit under PAYE, but actual forgiveness processing is currently paused. Most borrowers can transition into IBR (10%) without significant payment changes, but if you’re limited to the older IBR (15%) option, verify affordability closely before making a change.

How Much Debt Can an Income-Driven Repayment Plan Forgive?

There’s no limit to how much debt IDR plans can forgive. The total amount forgiven depends on how much you’ve repaid over the life of your loan. Borrowers with rising income or smaller loan balances may end up fully repaying their debt before reaching forgiveness.

To estimate your potential forgiveness and compare repayment options, use the Education Department’s loan simulator.

Debt forgiven under IDR plans remains non-taxable federally through at least 2025. Starting in 2026, however, forgiven loan balances may become taxable unless Congress extends the current exemption. Tax treatment at the state level also varies; some states may still tax forgiven debt. For personalized advice, speak with a tax professional about any potential implications in your state.

Will You Owe Taxes if You've Hit Your Forgiveness Threshold but Forgiveness is Delayed Past 2025?

Currently, the answer isn’t certain. But early signs from borrowers who’ve recently received IDR forgiveness indicate that the Department of Education has been setting the effective date of forgiveness retroactively, backdating it to the date borrowers made their final required monthly payment (for example, the 240th or 300th payment).

If this practice continues, borrowers who reached their forgiveness milestone before 2026 could avoid federal taxes, even if processing delays push their official forgiveness into 2026 or later. But since this isn’t confirmed policy yet, speak with a tax advisor to discuss your situation if you’re in this position.