Student Loan Relief Application Site Open For FL Borrowers

FLORIDA — Student loan borrowers in Florida can apply for $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness, even as the president's debt relief program faces court challenges.

President Joe Biden recently announced the formal launch of the application site for those seeking debt relief. An estimated 43 million borrowers may be eligible for the student loan forgiveness program, announced in August.

The program provides eligible Pell grant borrowers with up $20,000 in debt relief and $10,000 in debt relief for others. Individuals who made less than $125,000 and families with incomes of less than $250,000 in 2020 or 2021 are eligible to apply.

Income is based on adjusted gross income as reflected on federal tax returns, a figure that tends to be lower than total income. The adjusted gross income is found on line 11 on IRS Form 1040.

“I’m announcing millions of people working and middle-class folks can apply and get this relief. And it’s simple and it’s now. It’s easy,” Biden said, according to CNN. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans … and it took an incredible amount of effort to get this website done in such a short time.”

Applicants can fill out the form in English or Spanish at Studentaid.gov. The form includes information on the debt relief, who qualifies for it and how it works, CNN said. In order to apply, plug in your full name, Social Security number, date of birth, phone number and an email address.

Dec. 31, 2023, is the deadline to submit an application.

Related: Biden Cancels $10K In Student Loan Debt For Some Florida Borrowers

Here’s a look at how student loan debt is affecting borrowers in Florida, according to the Education Data Initiative:

• 2,623,600 Florida residents have student loan debt.
• The average debt per borrower is $38,459.
• 12.2 percent of Florida residents owe student loan debt.
• 15.7 percent of the state’s indebted student loan borrowers owe less than $5,000.
• 20.7 percent owe $20,000 to $40,000.

At least five lawsuits in courts across the country accuse President Biden of executive over-reach and bypassing Congress in authorizing such large-scale debt relief.

The program is anchored on a 2003 law giving the Education Department the authority to waive loan requirements to help borrowers in an emergency.

The Washington Post reported the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ordered a halt Friday night to the imminent cancellation of federal student loans as a lawsuit to stop the program filed by six Republican-led states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — works its way through the courts.

The court has agreed to an expedited briefing on the states' motion for an injunction, but the Biden administration cannot start canceling loans next week as planned, the Post said. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey dismissed the states’ lawsuit for lack of standing.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied a separate request by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to stop the debt relief program.

The Department of Education has told borrowers who are eligible for automatic debt relief, without filing an application, not to expect the debt cancellation before Nov. 14, CNN reported.

The Federal Family Education Loan program ended in 2010, and its loans were split between the Education Department and private loan companies. Those in the latter category are typically excluded from debt forgiveness programs.

Borrowers were advised to consolidate those loans into the federal Direct Loan program to qualify for the debt relief program. The Biden administration’s announcement of the program triggered a spike in consolidations among commercial FFEL borrowers, The Washington Post reported.

However, the department changed its guidance about two weeks ago. Now, only those who consolidated their loans before Sept. 29 are eligible. According to The Post, the change affected nearly 800,000 borrowers.

Other legal challenges have been filed by the state of Arizona, a former U.S. Senate candidate from Oregon and a libertarian attorney in Indiana to stop the forgiveness plan, Bloomberg reported

As of 2021, nearly 166 million borrowers owe a collective $1.59 trillion in student loans, more than Americans owe on their auto loans or credit card balances, according to credit reporting agency Experian’s most recent State of Student Loan Debt report.

The average balance per borrower increased slightly in 2021 to $39,487, up nearly $700 from 2020, according to Experian.

An August survey conducted by the credit monitoring company ScoreSence revealed only 14 percent of U.S. borrowers with federal student loans on pause could afford the payments with no issues when the forbearance period ends. The survey also revealed that 42 percent of borrowers aren't sure how they will add loan payments back into their budget.