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PSLF Forgiveness Calculator

Public service loan forgiveness projection. The requirement is 120 qualifying payments, not ten years: a period in the wrong plan or the wrong employment does not count and does not reset, it simply does not accrue.

Also called: public service loan forgiveness, pslf 120 payments.

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Projected forgiveness
$115,382.76

$115,382.76 forgiven after 96 more qualifying payments, 8 years away. You will have paid $34,146.57 against $103,488.00 on standard repayment, a difference of $69,341.43. All three conditions must hold at once: qualifying loan, qualifying plan and qualifying employment. Certify employment annually.

Qualifying payments remaining
96
Years remaining
8
Total paid under PSLF
$34,146.57
Total under standard repayment
$103,488.00
Benefit of PSLF
$69,341.43
Balance at forgiveness
$115,382.76
On eligibility
All three conditions must hold at once: qualifying loan, qualifying plan and qualifying employment. Certify employment annually.
How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

PSLF forgives the remaining balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer. Three conditions must hold simultaneously: the right loan type, the right repayment plan and qualifying employment. Payments made when any one fails do not count, which is where most failed applications originate. The forgiven amount has been untaxed federally, which makes the benefit larger than an equivalent private saving. Certifying employment annually is the practical protection against discovering a problem at year ten.

the count is of qualifying payments, not of years, and a non-qualifying period simply does not count
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Balance

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

two years of qualifying payments made

Loan balance
$95,000.00
Interest rate
6.5%
Monthly payment under your plan
$320.00
Qualifying payments already made
24
Annual payment growth
3%
Standard 10 year payment for comparison
$1,078.00

Projected forgiveness$115,382.76

120 less 24

Open this example

one payment short still qualifies for the projection

Loan balance
$95,000.00
Interest rate
6.5%
Monthly payment under your plan
$320.00
Qualifying payments already made
119
Annual payment growth
3%
Standard 10 year payment for comparison
$1,078.00

Projected forgiveness$95,194.58

boundary

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • All future payments qualify, which requires maintaining employment and plan.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Loan type, plan type and employer all have to qualify, and historically most rejections were on these grounds.
  • Programme rules have changed repeatedly and are subject to further change.
  • This is a projection, not a determination of eligibility.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Is it ten years or 120 payments?
120 qualifying payments. Time in the wrong plan or non-qualifying employment does not count, so the calendar and the count can differ substantially.
How do I protect myself?
Certify employment annually rather than at the end. It is how you find a problem at year two rather than at year ten.