Teacher Loan Forgiveness in 2026: Who Qualifies for $5,000 or $17,500, Which Schools Count, and the Overlap Rule With PSLF

5 min read · Last updated July 06, 2026

In this article

– What Teacher Loan Forgiveness is – Who qualifies in 2026 – How much you can get – How to apply – Mistakes that cost teachers the benefit – FAQ

Priya Nair, 33, finished her fifth straight year teaching high school chemistry at a Title I school in Fresno in June 2026, and with it became eligible to erase $17,500 of her federal student loans. She almost missed it. Two years in, her school briefly dropped off the federal low-income directory, and she assumed her clock had reset. It had not. Understanding rules like that one is the difference between $17,500 forgiven and nothing.

What Teacher Loan Forgiveness is

Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) is a federal program that cancels a fixed dollar amount of your federal student loans in exchange for five years of full-time teaching at a qualifying low-income school. It is not tied to your income, your repayment plan, or a payment count. It is service-based: you teach the years, you get the cancellation.

The program is still fully active in 2026. It is separate from the student loan repayment overhaul in the news, including the wind-down of the SAVE plan, so those changes do not affect your TLF eligibility.

Who qualifies in 2026

To qualify, all of the following must be true:

– You teach full-time for five complete and consecutive academic years. – At least one of those years is after the 1997 to 1998 academic year. – The school or educational service agency is low-income and listed in the TCLI Directory (the Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory) for the years you teach. – You were a new borrower on or after October 1, 1998, meaning you had no outstanding balance on a Direct or FFEL loan on that date. – Your loans are Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized, or Stafford Subsidized or Unsubsidized.

The consecutive-year rule has a wrinkle worth knowing. If your school was on the directory the year you started but falls off later, the following years can still count as long as you keep teaching there. That is the rule Priya nearly tripped over.

How much you can get

There are two tiers.

Amount	Who it is for	Best for
Up to $17,500	Highly qualified full-time math or science teachers at the secondary level, and highly qualified special education teachers at any level	STEM and special ed teachers with larger balances
Up to $5,000	Other highly qualified full-time elementary or secondary teachers	General classroom teachers with smaller balances

The forgiven amount is tax-free and is applied straight to your balance. If your total qualifying balance is smaller than the tier amount, the program forgives what you owe, not more.

How to apply

You apply once, after you complete the five years, not before.

1. Confirm each year that your school is on the TCLI Directory. Save a screenshot every year, because the list is updated annually. 2. After your fifth complete year, download the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application from your loan servicer or Federal Student Aid. 3. Have the chief administrative officer at each school where you taught certify your service on the form. This is the step teachers forget. 4. Submit it to your loan servicer, which processes the cancellation.

If your goal is to wipe out a larger balance, compare TLF against Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which can forgive your entire remaining balance after 120 qualifying payments, and against income-driven repayment forgiveness.

Mistakes that cost teachers the benefit

– Teaching part-time or through a staffing agency. You must be a full-time employee. Combining part-time roles generally does not count. – A break in the five consecutive years. Limited exceptions exist for military service, a qualifying family or medical leave, or returning to finish, but a plain gap resets the clock. – The school was not on the directory the year you started. That first year sets your eligibility. Check before you commit. – The wrong loan type. Parent PLUS, Perkins, and private loans do not qualify. Only Direct and Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans do. – Assuming the $17,500 tier. If you do not teach a qualifying subject, your cap is $5,000, even if your balance is far higher. – Double-counting with PSLF. The same service period cannot power both programs. For many teachers with large balances, pursuing PSLF for full forgiveness beats taking the $17,500 and stopping.

For other federal options if TLF does not fit, see our overview of federal programs that help with student loan repayment.

FAQ

Do I qualify if I teach part-time at two schools? Generally no. Teacher Loan Forgiveness requires full-time employment. Combining two part-time positions usually does not meet the standard, though a narrow exception can apply if your state considers the combined role full-time.

What steps and documents does the application require? After your fifth complete year, you file the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application with your loan servicer. The chief administrative officer at each qualifying school must certify your service on the form before it can be processed.

Do Parent PLUS or private loans qualify? No. Only Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans and Stafford Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans qualify. Parent PLUS, Perkins, and private loans are not eligible for this program.

Can I get both Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF? Not for the same period of service. You cannot use the same five years for both. Teachers with large balances often do better pursuing PSLF, which forgives the full remaining balance after 120 qualifying payments.

Does the SAVE plan ending affect my Teacher Loan Forgiveness? No. Teacher Loan Forgiveness is service-based, not payment-based, so it is not affected by changes to the SAVE plan or other repayment plans. You still qualify by completing five years at a low-income school.