The partial relief methodology was flawed. The U.S. Department of Education has decided that all borrowers whose borrower defense claims were approved will receive a full discharge of their loans. This will affect 72,000 borrowers who were subject to predatory student lending.
Tax-free Student Loan Forgiveness
Congress also took action concerning the tax treatment of student loan debt forgiveness. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included tax-free status for all student loan forgiveness and debt cancellation through . This primarily affects the forgiveness after 20 or 25 years in an income-driven repayment plan, since most other forms of student loan cancellation already had tax-free status. However, it sets the stage for future student debt forgiveness, whether implemented by executive action or new legislation.
Likely Future Student Loan Forgiveness Developments
The next event will occur when the U.S. Department of Education and Justice Department issue reports concerning the executive branch’s legal authority to implement broad loan forgiveness without Congress.
These reports will likely conclude that the President does not have the legal authority to implement broad student loan forgiveness through executive action. This will force Congress to act. Congress might consider legislation to forgive student loans in the fall, as part of a budget reconciliation bill. The Biden Administration has repeatedly reiterated that the President would sign a bill offering $10,000 in federal student loan forgiveness to all borrowers.
- If student loan forgiveness is limited to federally-held loans, the process will be automatic and will happen within a month or two of the President signing the bill into law, assuming that there aren’t complicated eligibility restrictions. Lees verder