(NEXSTAR) — Millions of federal student loan borrowers will soon have much or all of their debt forgiven under a recently announced plan by the Biden administration. Relief will come sooner for some borrowers than others.
The Biden administration estimates up to 43 million borrowers qualify for this federal student loan forgiveness. While the majority will have to wait until October to begin the application process, roughly 8 million borrowers are expected to receive forgiveness automatically, according to the Department of Education.
How do you know if you’re one of those 8 million borrowers?
These borrowers already have the necessary income data on file with the Education Department through one of two ways: a recent Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or an income-driven repayment application that uses income data from tax years 2021 or 2020.
Officials explain this data will be used to identify borrowers that meet the income cap of $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for married couples or heads of households.
If you are one of those borrowers that has submitted income data for both 2021 and 2020, the Education Department says it will use the year with the lower income.
Borrowers that are found to be eligible for automatic relief will be sent an email and a text message (if signed up for one via your FSA account).
If you’re among the roughly 35 million borrowers that don’t qualify for automatic relief, there isn’t much to do right now.
The Biden administration says it will launch an application for federal student loan forgiveness “in the coming weeks.” The application will be available before the student loan repayment pause ends on Dec. 31.
You can register to be notified when the application is available through the Department of Education by filling out this form.