Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) in 2026: Rules, Numbers and How to Apply

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) cancels the remaining balance on your federal Direct Loans after 120 qualifying monthly payments made while you work full time for a qualifying public service employer, and the forgiven amount is free of federal income tax. It is the largest forgiveness program still running: through August 2026, the Education Department had cancelled $96.4 billion for 1,291,700 borrowers under PSLF and its related programs.

The Short Answer

• Employer: government (federal, state, local, Tribal, including the military), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, or another nonprofit providing certain public services.
• Full time: an average of at least 30 hours a week, in one or more qualifying jobs.
• Loans: Direct Loans only; FFEL and Perkins loans must be consolidated into a Direct Consolidation Loan first.
• Payments: 120 qualifying monthly payments made after October 1, 2007. They don't need to be consecutive, but you must work for a qualifying employer when you apply.
• Plans that count: RAP (on-time payments only), IBR, PAYE and ICR (until June 30, 2028), the 10-year standard plan, or a plan paying at least that much. The new Tiered Standard plan does not count.
• Taxes: PSLF forgiveness is excluded from federal income under a permanent rule, 26 U.S.C. 108(f)(1).

The Four Requirements

34 CFR 685.219 and 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m). When you consolidate, the qualifying payments already made on Direct Loans carry over to the new loan as a weighted average.

Which Repayment Plans Count in 2026

• Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP): counts, but only on-time payments. The department says it cannot count late RAP payments. Our RAP calculator shows the payment.
• IBR: counts.
• PAYE and ICR: count only for payments made on or before June 30, 2028, when those plans end.
• SAVE: vacated by a court on March 10, 2026. Months in the SAVE litigation forbearance do not count.
• 10-year standard plan, or any other plan paying at least the 10-year standard amount: counts. But borrowers with any loan made on or after July 1, 2026 can no longer use that standard plan.
• Tiered Standard and the alternative repayment plan: do not count.

In practice, a borrower pursuing PSLF today wants RAP or IBR, with every payment on time. If you are leaving SAVE, choose one of those before the deadline on your servicer's notice; borrowers who don't choose are placed on the Standard or Tiered Standard plan. The Tiered Standard plan doesn't count, and a standard payment is usually far higher than an income-driven one.

Months That Count Without a Payment, and Buyback

Some months count even though you made no payment, as long as you are not on RAP: cancer treatment deferment, economic hardship deferment, military service and post-active-duty student deferments, AmeriCorps and National Guard duty forbearances, the Defense Department Student Loan Repayment Program forbearance, and administrative or mandatory administrative forbearance. On RAP, any month in deferment or forbearance is not an on-time payment, so it does not count.

PSLF buyback turns other deferment or forbearance months into qualifying months, if you worked full time for a qualifying employer during them: you pay what you would have owed then on a qualifying plan (nothing, if your income-driven payment would have been $0). It is not available for months on RAP. The department's servicer says buyback is open only to borrowers who already have 120 months of qualifying employment and for whom the purchase would complete forgiveness; that limit comes from the department's process, not from the regulation. A court ordered the department to keep processing buyback requests; it reported about 88,000 pending as of April 30, 2026, including an estimated 18,000 to 19,000 duplicates.

How to Apply

1. Check your employer in the PSLF Help Tool's employer search on StudentAid.gov.
2. Submit the PSLF form (PSLF & TEPSLF Certification & Application) through the PSLF Help Tool. Your employer's authorized official can sign electronically. The department encourages filing every year or when you change jobs, and requires it at 120 payments.
3. Get your loans and plan in order: consolidate FFEL or Perkins loans, and move to RAP or IBR if you are on a plan that doesn't count.
4. At 120 payments, apply for forgiveness on the same form while still working for a qualifying employer. You can ask for a forbearance while it is processed; payments made after your 120th are refunded or applied to other federal loans.
5. If denied, you can request reconsideration within 90 days.

Most closed applications fail on paperwork, not eligibility. The department's data show 1,264,900 applications closed as incomplete and 123,400 for signature problems, against 73,200 for employer eligibility, between June 30, 2024 and August 31, 2026.

PSLF by the Numbers

Federal Student Aid PSLF data, cumulative through August 2026. Some borrowers appear in more than one program, so the rows add up to more than the total.

How far along the 2,748,300 borrowers with certified employment and open loans are, by qualifying payments:

Federal Student Aid, cumulative PSLF borrowers as of the end of August 2026; together they owe $248.7 billion, an average of $90,500.

The 2025 Employer Rule and the Courts

On October 31, 2025 the department published a rule (90 FR 48966), based on Executive Order 14235, letting it disqualify employers it found to have a "substantial illegal purpose," such as aiding violations of immigration law, from July 1, 2026. Cities, unions, nonprofits and a coalition of states sued in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. On June 30, 2026, both courts vacated the rule: the Massachusetts court found it exceeded the department's authority, was arbitrary and capricious, and violated the First Amendment; the D.C. court held the law requires credit for full-time work at any 501(c)(3). The department appealed on August 27, 2026 (D.C. Circuit No. 26-5308; First Circuit Nos. 26-1972 and 26-1973). No stay had been issued as of October 20, 2026, and the department removed the employer attestation it had added to the PSLF form to comply with the rulings.

Temporary Expanded PSLF

TEPSLF, created by Congress in 2018, helps borrowers who met every PSLF requirement but made some payments on plans that didn't count, such as the graduated or extended plans. Your payments in the last 12 months and your 120th payment must be at least what the lowest income-driven plan other than RAP would have required. It uses the same PSLF form. Borrowers whose only income-driven option is RAP, because they have a loan made on or after July 1, 2026, can't use TEPSLF.

For other ways federal loans are forgiven, including income-driven forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness and disability discharge, see our student loan forgiveness guide.

Sources & Methodology

• 34 CFR 685.219 as re-issued by the May 1, 2026 final rule (effective July 1, 2026): employers, full time, plans, counting deferments and forbearances, buyback.
• Public Law 119-21, section 82004: RAP payments count for PSLF; ICR-type plans until their repeal.
• PSLF & TEPSLF Certification & Application (OMB 1845-0110): plans listed, Tiered Standard exclusion, TEPSLF, process.
• Federal Student Aid, PSLF data: discharges, payment counts and application outcomes through August 2026.
• 90 FR 48966 and the June 30, 2026 decisions in National Council of Nonprofits v. McMahon and Massachusetts v. Department of Education (D. Mass. 1:25-cv-13242, 13244) and RFK Center v. McMahon (D.D.C. 1:25-cv-03860).
• 26 U.S.C. 108(f)(1): federal tax exclusion.
• AFT v. Department of Education (D.D.C. 1:25-cv-00802): buyback processing order and status reports.

Method notes. Rules come from the regulation, the law and the official form; numbers from the department's data file and court filings. The online regulation still prints the employer-rule text, which the May 2026 rule re-issued; the courts vacated the rule and the department says it is complying, so we treat it as not in force while the appeals run.

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Your servicer and the PSLF Help Tool have your payment count. Facts checked on October 20, 2026.

FAQ

Is PSLF still available in 2026?
Yes. It is set by law and the department continues to process it; 1,291,700 borrowers had $96.4 billion discharged under PSLF and related programs through August 2026.

Do RAP payments count toward PSLF?
Yes, on-time RAP payments count. Late RAP payments and months in deferment or forbearance while on RAP do not.

Do SAVE forbearance months count toward PSLF?
No. The SAVE litigation forbearance is not a qualifying forbearance. PSLF buyback may let you pay for those months if you worked full time for a qualifying employer and the purchase would complete your 120 payments.

Is PSLF forgiveness taxable?
No, not for federal income tax. It is excluded under 26 U.S.C. 108(f)(1), a permanent rule separate from the 2021-2025 exclusion that expired.

Does my employer still qualify after the 2025 rule?
The rule that would have let the department disqualify employers for a "substantial illegal purpose" was vacated by two federal courts on June 30, 2026. The department has appealed, but the rule is not being applied and the PSLF form no longer asks employers to attest.

Can I get PSLF with FFEL or Perkins loans?
Only after consolidating them into a Direct Consolidation Loan. The regulation carries over qualifying payments made on Direct Loans; payments made on FFEL or Perkins loans before consolidation are not covered by that rule, so check your count in the PSLF Help Tool after consolidating.