Loan Forgiveness and Cancellation

Under certain conditions, you may have all or part of your education loans forgiven or cancelled in exchange for performing a qualifying service for a defined period of time. Although you do not have to repay the part of your loan that is forgiven or cancelled, you may owe taxes on the forgiven/cancelled amount in cases where the forgiven/cancelled amount is considered income.

Below is a listing of Loan Forgiveness Programs that are administered by New York State and by the federal government through the U.S. Department of Education. Click on the program to find out eligibility requirements.

New York State Loan Forgiveness Programs for NYS Residents Only
Title	Summary
Loan Forgiveness for District Attorneys and Indigent Legal Services Attorneys	District Attorney and Indigent Legal Services Attorney Loan Forgiveness Program awards are being offered to retain experienced attorneys employed as District Attorneys, Assistant District Attorneys or Indigent Legal Services Attorneys throughout New York State
Loan Forgiveness for Licensed Social Workers	Awards are made annually to social workers licensed to practice in New York State who have at least one year of prior employment working in a critical human service area.
Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program	The Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program seeks to increase the number of nursing faculty members and adjunct clinical faculty teaching in the field of nursing in New York State.

Federal Loan Forgiveness Programs
Title	Summary
Loan Forgiveness for Teachers	Certain teachers can have a portion of their Federal Stafford loans forgiven.
Loan Forgiveness for Public Service Employees	After making 120 payments, while working full time, certain public service workers with Federal Direct Loans may have the balance of their loan forgiven. (Those who do not have Federal Direct Loans may apply for a Direct Consolidation loan to take advantage of this program.)
Perkins Loan Cancellation Programs	For borrowers with Perkins Loans who are: teachers; providers of early intervention services; law enforcement or corrections officers; nurse or medical technicians; employees of a child or family service agency; attorneys employed in a defender organization; firefighters; tribal college or University faculty members; librarians; speech-language pathologists; staff members in an Early childhood education program; in the military; or working as a volunteer under the Peace Corps Act or Domestic Volunteer Service Act.