Biden-Harris Student Debt Relief Update – What You Need to Know

UPDATE - 11/4/22:
According to an article by CNBC, Supreme Court again declines to block Biden’s student loan relief plan, "Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied an emergency application brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation to block federal student loan forgiveness... For now, student loan forgiveness remains on hold from a separate challenge brought by six GOP-led states after an appeals court judge in the 8th Circuit granted a stay...Close to 26 million Americans have already applied for student loan forgiveness."

UPDATE - 10/21/22: 
According to this article by CNN, "A federal appeals court put a temporary, administrative hold on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, barring the administration from canceling loans covered under the policy, while the court considers a challenge to it." The U.S Department of Education's  application portal says that they will be reviewing applications during this pause so that they are ready to begin processing debt relief once the court cases are resolved.

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On Monday, October 17th the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) opened the application for the Biden-Harris Administration Student Debt Relief Plan. The application will be open through December 31, 2023. According to the DOE, "The Student Debt Releif Plan is It’s a program that provides eligible borrowers with full or partial discharge of loans up to $20,000 to Federal Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 to non-Pell Grant recipients.

How to Apply for Federal Student Loan Debt Relief

• Borrowers can access the application here: studentaid.gov/debtrelief/apply.
• The application process takes about 5 minutes. 
• Applicants do not need to create a login or provide any documents to apply.
• The U.S. Department of Education will reach out directly to applicants if they need to provide additional information. Emails to borrowers will come from [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. Scam attempts can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission by calling 1-877-382-4357 or by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov.
• A paper application will be available soon.
• The application is available in both English and Spanish

Who is Eligible for Student Loan Debt Relief

Here are the facts according to the U.S. Department of Education: 

• The debt relief applies only to loan balances you had before June 30, 2022. Any new loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2022, aren’t eligible for debt relief.
• Here is the full list of the loans that are eligible.
• The application states, "To be eligible, you must affirm that  ONE of the following is true for 2020 (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2020) or 2021 (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2021):
  • I made less than the required income to file federal taxes.
  • I filed as a single tax-filer AND made less than $125,000.
  • I was married, filed my taxes separately, AND made less than $125,000.
  • I was married, filed my taxes jointly, AND made less than $250,000.
  • I filed as a head of household AND made less than $250,000.
  • I filed as a qualifying widow(er) AND made less than $250,000."
• To confirm which loans you have, log in to StudentAid.gov and select “My Aid” in the dropdown menu under your name at the top right of your screen.

Beware of Student Loan Debt Relief SCAMS!

Our team at Blue Fox is subscribed to receive updates about the Biden-Harris Student Loan Relief Plan and we will continue to share information as we get the facts. 

Please read this message from the U.S Department of Education: 

"Here's a list of Do's and Don'ts to protect yourself against scams as you prepare to apply for debt relief.

• DON'T pay anyone who contacts you with promises of debt relief or loan forgiveness. You will not need to pay anyone to obtain debt relief. The application will be free and easy to use.
• DON'T reveal your FSA ID or account information or password to anyone who contacts you. The Department of Education and your federal student loan servicer will never call or email you asking for this information.
• DON'T ever give personal or financial information to an unfamiliar caller. When in doubt, hang up and call your student loan servicer directly. You can find your federal student loan servicer's contact information at Studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/servicers.
• DON'T refinance your federal student loans unless you know the risks. If you refinance federal student loans eligible for debt relief into a private loan, you will lose out on important benefits like one-time debt relief and flexible payment plans for federal loans.
• DO create an FSA ID at StudentAid.gov. You will not need it for the debt relief application but having an FSA ID can allow you to easily access accurate information on your loan and make sure FSA can contact you directly, helping you equip yourself against scammers trying to contact you. Log in to your current account on StudentAid.gov and keep your contact info up to date. If you need help logging in follow these tips on accessing your account.
• DO make sure your loan servicer has your most current contact information. If you don't know who your servicer is, you can log into StudentAid.gov and see your servicer(s) in your account.
• DO share these messages with your networks and encourage others to sign up at www.ed.gov/subscriptions to be notified when the Student Loan Debt Relief application becomes available.
• DO report scammers to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting reportfraud.ftc.gov."