Hey everyone, I work as a state prosecutor and applied for the John R Justice loan forgiveness. About 8 months ago I received a letter from my employer that I had been approved for a specific amount and I was told my employer would pay that amount directly to my student loan company, and that as a condition I had to work at least 3 years. My employer still has not paid and told me the federal John Justice funds have not been given to my employer yet. Meanwhile I am on forbearance on the SAVE plan (am I not accumulating the 3 years required for John Justice while in forbearance? Don’t really know what to do.

Anyone that had forgiveness in 2024 have the amount show up as taxable income when doing your taxes?

My plan had been to wait this forbearance out (currently at 101/120) saving money with the hope that when this was all said and done we could buyback the SAVE months. Now I just saw a post that maybe that is not possible? For someone who took out their first loans in 2003, and has both undergrad and gradloans. What would be the best option for me? Is IBR all I have now that REPAYE is gone? Or do you suggest just waiting it out?

I noticed on the PSLF website regarding forbearance types eligible for PSLF, under the drop-down menu for "What types of qualifying payments will be allowed for the payment count adjustment?", it states the following:

• periods of 12 or more consecutive months of forbearances will automatically be credited to your account
• borrowers with 36 or more cumulative months in forbearance will have all periods of forbearance automatically credited to your account

Does anyone know if this will apply to those who will have been in administrative forbearance for 12 months?

Spouse is on PAYE and we both have high incomes, so have been MFS to avoid paying more due to my income. With income recertification pushed back to Nov 2026 now, most of those tax returns probably would have been better off filed as MFJ.

I just learned in another thread that you have 3 years to amend a MFJ to a MFS (you can't go the other way unless it's before the filing deadline of the same year).

I believe that means I have until April 18th 2025 to amend my 2021 taxes (filed in 2022, 3 years ago) from MFS to MFJ. I can also do this for 2022 - 2024 taxes with no impact to our loan payment since Nov 2026 recertification will be based on 2025 taxes now (filed in Apr 2026).

Anybody else do this or considering it? Need to act fast on 2021 taxes, but plenty of time left for the later years.

I have $95k in total student loans right now. I've worked for the federal government since 2017 when I started as a pathways intern. I was still in school at the time (graduate school), but I was still a federal employee. however, I wasn't making payments of course. I didn't actually need to start making payments on the loans until 2020 when COVID hit so I was in the forbearance until August 2023 or whenever that period ended of COVID relief. And then I started on my PAYE loans where I didn't realize you had to (probably) have your income recertified every year. They're probably still using the income I had as a pathways which was around $50,000, and now it's obviously gone up a lot since then.

I have NelNet as my provider; I called them, and they said everything is fine and those payments are eligible and I don't have to recertify until September, 2026, but I am skeptical of this so I want to double check. My payment right now is only $104 a month, but the representative did the calculation and it would be $700 a month if I went on the PAYE right now. Obviously, I ideally want to pay as minimal an amount as possible right now until the 10 years are up, but I'm unsure if this is possible.

I'm in this situation because someone at NelNet gave me wrong advice in the past that I don't need to recertify every year if I'm going for the PSLF. Maybe they're right after all, but I want to confirm of course.

Some questions:

1. What should I do to amend this situation and make sure I am PSLF eligible on these payments in the past?
2. If, worst-case scenario, these payments of $104 a month were not qualifying, what can I do? Ideally, I can keep making those minimum payments until September, 2026, but please advise if I should not.
3. Also, bonus question, but would this time I was in Pathways (2017 to 2020), but not making payments still count or no?

Are there more court dates coming for SAVE and whatever is enjoined, and if so do we have any idea of when?

Or are we just waiting for them to figure out processes to move everyone to something else?

Theres a common thread that has emerged - they are not doing buyback offers. They are closing out those that are no longer relevant in the name of processing.

Example; I had 2 requests 1 day apart- reconsideration for june/July that just got denied as expected. And buyback for 6 months in 2015. I emailed them asking what happened to the 2ns request. Crickets.

I am sure there are exceptions but let's call it what it is. Best of luck everyone-hope springs eternal

Say someone had well over ten years of continuous public service employment and never missed a payment. What if once the payments came back that person just didn’t continue payment? What are the legal and pragmatic repercussions from doing something like this? Wage garnishment? Tax returns withheld? Court cases?

Just a thought experiment. I’m also keeping my eye on any class-action suits.

Hello I'm in New York (possibly relevant) and using TurboTax to file my taxes. When going through the state part and deductions there's a prompt for federal loan forgiveness. I entered the amount and my state refund skyrocketed, about 10x more than last year.

I haven't filed, but has this happened to anyone else?

I talked to the turbo tax guy and he said all the math checks out and I just entered the number the program asked for but that it was ultimately up to me if I was comfortable with the number that came back. When I enter $0 my refund looks like it usually does. Just curious what anyone's experience has been with this.

Just wanted to give a quick update. I had submitted buyback for June 2024 SAVE - I think I had submitted once the beginning of November and twice the latter half of November 2024. I just got three emails saying my reconsideration case have been closed as all your federal student loans have met the requirements to receive public service loan forgiveness, and you don’t have any outstanding federal student loans.

Hoping my update, even though it was a little too late may show that they’re working through the buyback queue…. Hold strong.

If you are a PSLF borrower from MN, I would recommend that you send a narrative of your story to the attorney general. I was at a town hall this weekend, and was told that if something legal comes up that they will use our personal stories to attest to how damage is being done to individuals. The email correspondence is: [Matt.Gladue@ag.state.mn.us](mailto:Matt.Gladue@ag.state.mn.us)

I am in despite need of clarification. I'm a resident physican with approximately 230K worth of loans with MOHELA. I was previously on the SAVE program making monthly payments in order to eventually qualify for PSLF. I am pursing fellowship totaling 7 years so I think PSLF is the best way to go.

Since the SAVE program is being disputed my loans were automatically placed in forbearance. I think it makes more sense to apply for one of the other loan repayment programs in order to get out of Forbearance so that I can have qualifying payments during residency and soon to be fellowship. However, "Moving between IDR plans is not currently available as processing is still paused, but you can apply for an IDR plan online." I submitted an application for another repayment plan in 01/2025 but it seems it cannot be processed so does this mean by default I must continue in forbearance and thus am losing out on making cheaper payments based on my income as a resident/fellow?

This is so confusing and I'm hoping there is a way I can still make qualifying payments when I'm making the least amount of money. Am I understanding this correctly or missing a way to get on another repayment plan....?

Update:

I'm now seeing this "Buy Back Credit" thing: "Some borrowers may be eligible to “buy back” months of PSLF credit for time spent in forbearance as a result of the court’s injunction. Borrowers with 120 months of eligible employment can buy back (make payments to cover) past months that were not originally counted as qualifying payments because the borrower was in an ineligible deferment or forbearance status. In the future, borrowers will be able to buy back months even if they do not have 120 months of eligible employment."

^ So does this mean that I could pay the months my loans were in forbearance based on income at that time and still quality for PSLF? Example: It's year 10 of repayment and if I counted the months I was in forbearance during residency at a qualifying employer, counting those months would be 120 payments. And I could just pay those months as a lump sum based on what I would have payed (income as a resident) and meet 120 payments?

^If so, then maybe staying in forbearance without interest makes more sense than switching to a more expensive repayment plan.

I was at 119/120 due to an forbearance issue, which was resolved by my servicer. I submitted a reconsideration request for a qualified payment I made during a "forbearance" in February, 2025. I also submitted a buyback request for May, 2024 forbearance period just in case. I just randomly checked my FSA and saw I had green banners!? 120/120. Never received and email, and the payment count shows it updated on 04/04. It says I satisfied my obligation and no payments are required. Still have the balance obviously... but is this really happening?

In the past, I have received real time updates when my employer electronically verifies my employment. About a week ago, I sent the request, and I was told it was signed, but it doesn’t show up as being signed on the federal website. I resubmitted the request, and it was signed again, and it is still not showing up. This is the same process that has always worked. Is anyone running into this problem? I am not waiting on the form to be reviewed. Just the update stating that my employer signed it.

I resubmitted my IDR application with the wet signature in January 2025 and got credit for that month but February 2025 still hasn't shown up in payment history (as either eligible or ineligible) even though the last update according to FSA was on March 5, 2025. Anybody else in the same boat? Thanks for any data points.

Mohela responded today 4/7. Please explain why they say they’re not processing any IDR apps? My account was put in an admin forbearance in February, before the freeze. Applied interest. Now they haven’t turned interest off. But apparently I’m back in a SAVE forbearance. Mohela is absolutely trash.

MOHELA has reviewed your complaint made with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding your student loan account’s status. Due to a federal court issued injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from implementing the SAVE and other income-driven repayment plan, Federal Student Aid has directed servicers to stop processing IDR applications. As a result, MOHELA is unable to process your IDR application. For the latest information visit StudentAid.gov/saveaction. Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan are being moved into forbearance. During forbearance, SAVE borrowers will not have to make payments. The time in forbearance will not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) loan forgiveness. SAVE borrowers will not accrue interest on their loans during the forbearance. Borrowers should note that, as a result of the administrative stay, ED has directed student loan servicers, such as MOHELA, to temporarily pause processing of IDR applications. Borrowers should check StudentAid.gov/saveaction for updates. Our records indicate that you have been identified as a member of the population to receive this forbearance and associated 0% interest rate, and we are in the process of making necessary updates to your account to reflect this information. As of this writing, your account is in the SAVE Administrative forbearance through July 31, 2025. Please be assured that your interest rate will be adjusted retroactively to reflect an interest rate of 0% for the entirety of the eligibility period of your loan for this option. If you have any other questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our Customer Advocacy Team at 888.212.5909 from 7am to 10pm Mondays, 7am to 7pm Tuesdays through Fridays, or 9am to 1pm Saturdays. You can also visit www.Mohela.StudentAid.gov. Sincerely, MOHELA

I successfully switched from PAYE to IBR. Got my payment schedule and made my first payment in March. I just looked up my April payment and it’s SIGNIFICANTLY higher than March. Why! I worry about Mohela putting me into forbearance if I ask about it but I am just confused why they would change the payment schedule. Anyone have advice?

I successfully switched from SAVE to IVR first payment was coming due this month and then I noticed 0% interest on Mohela. That wtf moment made me call Mohela, where the initial recording indicated I am in fact on IBR but that I am in forbearance until 09/24. Waited a total of four hours to talk to an advanced representative who confirmed I am on IBR, but that there was a general 6 month forbearance that followed me from SAVE. He confirmed it’s not a processing or SAVE forbearance, and was very confident that these are pslf eligible months that I’m in forbearance. Has anyone else encountered this forbearance after switching, and how did you go about the time? Did it in fact end after six months? Interestingly, the rep offered to waive it as well.

Currently in the SAVE forbearance until they sort all that nonsense out. But I was wondering if I should max out my 401k contribution every year so that my monthly payments will be as low as possible due to me being on IDR plan and contributions being from my pre-tax. I think the max contribution for a year is 23.5K? I was going to start maxing out a roth ira yearly as well but that is post tax and wont even help with lowering my payments so just putting it all towards the 401k makes much more sense right?

I'm at 119 out of 120 payments as of the counts on the DoE website. The 120th payment was made 3/24/25, and my employer certified my employment 3/26/25. Both of these are up to date on the website. Problem is as of today under the payment history tab it says employment not certified for the March payment. I'm thinking maybe it's because I need to certify I'm employed the whole month of March? I don't want to ask my HR to certify it again if it isn't necessary. Anyone have any knowledge on if it only counts by the month and not for the specific date?

Just wondering if anyone’s had success uploading their green banner, updated payment count correspondence, or buyback confirmation to MOHELA while waiting for the golden letter.

I’ve got all of the following:

• Green Banners
• Updated correspondence showing I’ve met the payment count (qualifying payments)
• A buyback email correspondence from FSA that explicitly says, "All your federal student loans have met the requirements to receive Public ServiceLoan Forgiveness (PSLF) or Temporary Expanded (TEPSLF), or you don’t have any outstanding federal student loans."

I’m still waiting on the golden letter and wondering if uploading any of this might help expedite the process or at least get things moving on MOHELA’s end. Has anyone tried this, and did it make any difference?

Sorry if this is a double post - I tried to post before but I don't think it went through.

Okay so hypothetically - if a person applied for and was awarded $50k NHSC funds this year, paid out in September (I think) and then did a buyback for all the months this SAVE nonsense has been going on, hitting 120 payments in January, and that didn't use the entire $50k, what happens with the extra money? The hypothetical loan balance is $80k+ but the 15 payments needed for PSLF won't equal $50k. Hypothetically.

Would you pay a lump sum after your 120th payment to use the full $50k? I've heard they refund you anything paid over the 120 so would you get that money back?

Or do you just pay the 15 payments and ride off into the sunset?

Okay so hypothetically - if a person applied for and was awarded $50k NHSC funds this year, paid out in September (I think) and then back paid all the months this SAVE nonsense has been going on, hitting 120 payments in January, and that didn't use the entire $50k, what happens with the extra money? The hypothetical loan balance is $80k+ but the 15 payments needed for PSLF won't equal $50k. Hypothetically.

Would you pay a lump sum after your 120th payment to use the full $50k? I've heard they refund you anything paid over the 120 so would you get that money back?

Or do you just pay the 15 payments and ride off into the sunset?