Governor Tom Wolf announced today that Pennsylvanians will not have to pay state income tax on the student loan debt relief they get from the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program and the Pennsylvania Student Loan Relief for Nurses (SLRN) Program. The decision by the Wolf Administration will save people eligible for those programs potentially thousands of dollars in state tax.

The point of student loan forgiveness programs for public servants is that these are people who have chosen jobs, often in lower paying fields, because they want to make a difference, said Gov. Wolf. It’s wrong to take what should be a blessing and turn it into just another burden.

The Department of Revenue issued a revised tax bulletin today to clarify the language around student loan forgiveness and make clear that loan forgiveness through PSLF and SLRN is not considered taxable income

As a commonwealth and as a nation, we can’t afford for astronomical student loan debt to keep talented people from choosing to serve as teachers, firefighters, or nurses. We need to make sure that financial burdens don’t keep our best and brightest from taking on some of our most important jobs.

Student loan forgiveness is not considered taxable income at the federal level, and the decision announced by the governor brings Pennsylvania in line with the majority of other states. Lees verder →