Students loan borrowers on income-driven repayment (IDR) plans may have recently noticed something missing from studentaid.gov: a count of how many payments they’ve made toward forgiveness. One of the key facets of IDR is that after the required number of payments the borrower’s remaining balance is forgiven. Under President Biden, the Department of Education added a payment tracker for all borrowers on IDR plans, which allowed them to see their progress toward IDR Forgiveness and how many payments they had left. This spring, however, that tracker disappeared with little to no explanation, which drew the ire of Senator Elizabeth Warren. Following meetings with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, she was assured that the IDR tracker would return. To date: it has not.
Meanwhile, borrowers pursuing PSLF can still see their tracker at studentaid.gov, but may be surprised to see it stagnant. Borrowers report that recent payments have not been counted toward PSLF, and completion of their employer certification—the usual requirement to have payments counted—has had no impact on their counts. Congress has also passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which significantly restructures student loan repayment, eliminating most existing payment plans, replacing them with just three. All of this follows a stoppage in processing income recertifications, which resumed following a lawsuit over blocked access to PSLF, but only at a trickle.
It is unclear when the IDR tracker may return, if at all. As IDR plans will be completely replaced by the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) in July, 2026, it is hard to imagine that anything related to IDR will be a high priority for the Dept. of Ed. Further, it remains to be seen how IDR forgiveness will translate for borrowers that wish to switch over to RAP, if they can at all.
If you’re unsure about your IDR forgiveness process, give us a call. We can help you determine how far along you are, and what you may need to do to continue your progress. As always, we’re here to answer any questions you may have and give you the most up-to-date student loan news.
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