The federal government has begun accepting applications for President Biden's promised student debt cancellation.
If you meet the program's annual income limits, you can apply online at studentaid.gov/debt-relief/application
Mr. Biden said on Monday that this was a game-changer.
The application website for testing was quietly opened by the education department on Friday night. Mr. Biden said that more than eight million people had applied. The form can be used on desktop computers and mobile devices.
In August, Mr. Biden said he would use executive action to wipe out federal student loan debt. Six attorneys general from Republican states filed lawsuits to block the action. Last week, a federal judge in Missouri heard arguments on a request for an injunction to stop the government from carrying out the plan.
Republican members of Congress and Republican governors are trying to deny relief to their own people. Their outrage is not right.
Who is eligible to have their loan canceled? If you are single and earn $125,000 or less, you will be eligible for the debt cancellation. If your income is less than $250,000 you can qualify if you are married and filing your taxes together. You could get an extra $10,000 in debt cancellation if you met the income requirements for the grant.
If I qualify, what should I do? Check with your loan servicer to make sure that your email address, phone number and postal address are listed correctly so that you can get guidance. Follow the directions. The Department of Education has a web page about who your servicer is.
I don't know how to prove that I'm qualified. If you have already submitted your most recent tax return to certify your income, you should not have to do anything else. Keep an eye out for your servicer's instructions. Everyone else will have an application process by the end of the year.
Payments for the outstanding balance will restart. Payments won't be due until at least January because of President Biden. If you don't get a billing notice at least three weeks before your first payment is due, you can contact your loan servicer to find out what you owe and when payment is due.
He argued that he was justified in canceling student debt because of the $2 trillion in tax cuts that Republicans passed during the Trump administration.
One of the people who have sued said last month that Mr. Biden's plan was economically foolish and unfair.
According to a court filing, the Education Department will not cancel any loans until Sunday at the earliest.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the initiative is expected to cost $400 billion. 95 percent of borrowers with direct loans owned by the government would meet the relief plan's income criteria, according to an estimate.
Federal student loan borrowers can no longer make their payments. The pause in the spread of the disease is expected to end in January. The administration plans to eliminate the debt of many applicants in the coming weeks.
If a person received a grant for low-income families, they are eligible for debt relief. Tens of millions of people would no longer have student loan debt. Applications will be accepted until the end of the year.
The form requires applicants to certify that they fall within the limits. Some people will be asked to submit documents to prove their eligibility.
The White House is worried that the debt forgiveness program will attract fraud and scam artists. Mr. Biden reminded borrowers that there was no cost to apply for loan forgiveness, even though he warned against such schemes.
Mr. Biden knows what it's like to have a new government website that isn't easy to use. The student debt relief portal remained up and running, he said on Monday.
Mr. Biden said that they would make sure the system worked as smoothly as possible so that they could deliver student loan relief for millions of Americans.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
