{"id":24430,"date":"2026-04-25T14:35:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T14:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/incredipros.com\/?p=24430"},"modified":"2026-04-25T14:35:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T14:35:29","slug":"how-to-get-parent-plus-loan-forgiveness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/incredipros.com\/?p=24430","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Parent PLUS Loan Forgiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Feeling stuck in a Parent PLUS Loan? You\u2019re probably looking for the easiest way out of it, including getting the whole debt forgiven. But is Parent PLUS Loan forgiveness real? And what are your options to get rid of this thing for good? Time to find out!\n <\/p>\n

Is Parent PLUS Loan Forgiveness Real?<\/h2>\n

So, you want to get rid of a Parent PLUS Loan. Maybe your child didn\u2019t receive enough financial aid for undergrad or maybe you\u2019re the student looking for a way to relieve your parent of this financial burden. Either way, we know you\u2019d rather not have a loan hanging over your relationship and making things awkward at family dinners.\n <\/p>\n

But can Parent PLUS Loans be forgiven? Short answer: Technically, yes\u2014there are a couple ways to have your Parent PLUS Loan forgiven, one with more conditions than the other.<\/strong> <\/strong>But let\u2019s dig into the details of both options so you can make the best decision for your situation.\n <\/p>\n

Will President Biden Forgive Parent PLUS Loans?<\/h2>\n

Back in August of 2022, President Joe Biden announced a student loan forgiveness plan\u00a0to cancel up to $10,000 of federal student loan debt for borrowers who make less than $125,000, and up to $20,000 for borrowers who also received a Pell Grant in college.1<\/sup> And yes, that would\u2019ve included Parent PLUS Loans.\n <\/p>\n

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But in June 2023, the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s forgiveness. So, if you were banking on this plan to free you of your Parent PLUS Loans . . . know it\u2019s not happening.\n <\/p>\n

And while you might be super disappointed by this outcome, it\u2019s never a good idea to put your faith in the government to wipe out your student loan debt. You\u2019re much better off tackling your loans yourself\u2014because you can actually make it happen!\n <\/p>\n

Parent PLUS Loan Forgiveness Options<\/h2>\n

Even with Biden\u2019s forgiveness plan off the table, there are several federal forgiveness programs available that technically cover Parent PLUS Loans. But you\u2019ll have to jump through a lot of hoops before you can apply\u2014and even then, the approval rate is pretty terrible.\n <\/p>\n

Income-Contingent Repayment<\/h3>\n

One way you can have your Parent PLUS Loans forgiven is with an Income-Contingent Repayment Plan.\n <\/p>\n

There\u2019s a group of repayment options for student loan borrowers known as\u00a0Income-Driven Repayment Plans\u00a0(IDR). Within those plans, the only type that Parent PLUS Loan borrowers can use is an Income-Contingent Repayment Plan (ICR). The goal with this plan is to pay a smaller monthly payment in the hope that your student loans will be forgiven after 25 years.\n <\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the tricky thing about applying for an ICR: Parents with Parent PLUS Loans are not eligible for any kind of Income-Driven Repayment Plan. The only way to qualify is to consolidate your Parent PLUS Loan into a Direct Consolidation Loan\u2014you can do this with either one Parent PLUS Loan or with any other student loans you have as the parent<\/em>. (Remember how we said parents and their kids are considered separate borrowers? That means you as a parent can\u2019t consolidate your loans with any loans that are in your child\u2019s name.)\n <\/p>\n

And the income-contingent portion of the program is pretty strict. Not only do you have to verify that your income is low enough to qualify, but you also have to prove it again annually to keep your lower payment. If you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll get kicked off the IDR and onto the standard 10-year repayment plan (which means you may not have a balance to forgive in the end). Plus, if your income increases enough, you could actually end up paying more than you would on the standard repayment plan.\n <\/p>\n

And in April 2022, the National Consumer Law Center reported that even though student loan cancellation under IDR has been a thing since 2016, only\u00a032 borrowers<\/em>\u00a0have ever had their loan balances forgiven.2<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n

But beside that, the IDR repayment plan is forever long\u2014twenty-five years for an ICR. Do the math and ask yourself how old you\u2019ll be on the other side of that bargain. Do you really want to carry student loan debt into retirement?\n <\/p>\n

Oh, one last government gotcha: If you ever\u00a0do<\/em>\u00a0manage to have your loans forgiven through an ICR, you should know you\u2019ll probably have to pay income tax on the amount forgiven. The IRS demands such a sizable cut of the forgiveness, some have even called it a tax bomb because of the way it blows up your bank account. Yikes!\n <\/p>\n

Public Service Loan Forgiveness<\/h3>\n

Public Service Loan Forgiveness\u00a0(PSLF) is another way you\u00a0might<\/em>\u00a0be able to get a Parent PLUS Loan forgiven, but you\u2019ll have to be on an Income-Driven Repayment Plan (IDR) to qualify\u2014they\u2019re kind of a package deal.\n <\/p>\n

Basically, the borrower (the parent) has to work full time for an approved employer (usually the government or a nonprofit) for 10 years and make 120 payments under a qualifying IDR (more specifically, the income-contingent plan we just talked about).\n <\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just to apply. Getting approved for PSLF is a whole other thing. But get this: Between November 2020 and July 2022, there were 1,684,233 total PSLF applications, and only 24,743 of them met the proper requirements. That\u2019s a success rate of less than 2%!3<\/sup> In other words, it basically never happens.\n <\/p>\n

As if that\u2019s not bad enough, some people who believed their loan balances were forgiven, received letters of denial sometimes years<\/em> later.4<\/sup> Talk about depressing.\n <\/p>\n

The best thing we can say about PSLF is that it\u2019s not treated as a taxable event by the IRS. If they say they\u2019re forgiving your balance, there won\u2019t be a tax bill thrown in.5<\/sup> And yeah, 10 years is much shorter than the 25 years with IDR alone, but it\u2019s still 10 years of your life that will most likely end with your student loans not <\/em>being forgiven.\n <\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of borrowers have entered PSLF and taken on low-paying jobs (because let\u2019s face it, that\u2019s what most government and nonprofit work often is) only to have their hopes of loan forgiveness dashed years later. That\u2019s not only super disappointing\u2014it\u2019s super frustrating. They could have paid off their student loans a lot faster by either taking higher paying jobs, working the\u00a0debt snowball method, or both!\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Should I Apply for Parent PLUS Loan Forgiveness?<\/h2>\n

Phew! That was a lot to get through. But do you see how complicated applying for forgiveness is, especially for Parent PLUS Loans?\n <\/p>\n

Programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Income-Driven Repayment may seem like the answer, but they have yet to be successful for more than a few people. Even after meeting all the criteria and hitting the required number of payments, many borrowers end up being denied for the forgiveness they\u2019ve been looking forward to for literal decades\u2014often for technical reasons they had no idea could derail their plan.\n <\/p>\n

Here’s the bottom line on the reality of Parent Plus forgiveness: It\u2019s a crapshoot. You might hear of someone winning here and there, but many people end up super disappointed in the end. It\u2019s not worth it when you can knock out your student loans faster and on your own terms.\n <\/p>\n

Alternatives to Parent PLUS Loan Forgiveness<\/h2>\n

Forgiveness plans rarely pay off for borrowers. A much better (and way more reliable) plan is to get intentional with your money and focus on becoming debt-free as fast as possible.\n <\/p>\n

How? Here are some ways you can get rid of your Parent PLUS Loans (without relying on the government):\n <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t take on more debt.\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Sounds simple, right? But many people keep taking out new loans even as they\u2019re trying to pay off others. That\u2019s like a dog chasing its tail, and it will only put you deeper in the hole. Nope, you\u2019ve got to get mad at your debt and avoid it at all costs! (If you need some help, our Borrowed Future<\/em> documentary is sure to get you fired up.)\n <\/p>\n

Get on a budget.<\/h3>\n

Your income is your most powerful tool for getting out of debt. And the only way to make sure you\u2019re putting it to good use is with a monthly plan (aka a budget). When you give every dollar of your income a job to do, you save more money and make progress faster. A budget will help you pay off your student loans way faster than before! Go ahead and create your budget for free with EveryDollar.\n <\/p>\n

Work the debt snowball.\u00a0<\/h3>\n

We mentioned it before, but the debt snowball method really is the best way to destroy your debt. Just list all your debts (that includes other debts besides student loans) from smallest to largest. And don\u2019t worry about the interest rate\u2014the goal is to knock these out fast. Then, pay minimum payments on everything but the smallest debt.\u00a0Now, attack that smallest debt with a vengeance until it\u2019s gone. And repeat the process with the next smallest debt\u2014and so on, until you\u2019re debt-free!\n <\/p>\n

Whether your Parent PLUS Loan becomes your immediate focus or falls later in the snowball, it\u2019ll be gone in no time if you keep working this plan.\n <\/p>\n

Consider refinancing.\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Refinancing your student loans\u00a0can be a great option, depending on your situation. And it can even\u00a0help with Parent PLUS Loans.\n <\/p>\n

But you should only refinance your student loans if:\n <\/p>\n