Texans with smaller student loans could see federal debt canceled as soon as February

Texas borrowers enrolled in the SAVE loan repayment program will have their debt canceled if they took out $12,000 or less and have been repaying for at least 10 years. BY SNEHA DEY Students walk through Texas State University campus in San Marcos on Jan. 31, 2018. Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune <link rel=”canonical” href=”https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/12/texas-student-loan-forgiveness-save/”> The Biden administration has fast-tracked a student loan forgiveness program that could erase the debt of thousands of Texas borrowers with smaller loans. Texans who took out $12,000 or less in loans and have been repaying for at least 10 years will have their debt automatically canceled in February, as long as they are enrolled in a federal income-based repayment plan known as SAVE. It will bring significant relief to community college borrowers in particular, who typically borrow in smaller amounts. More than 590,000 Texans are enrolled in the SAVE plan. The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately say how many of those program enrollees had debts of $12,000 or under. The Biden administration is encouraging borrowers who are eligible for early debt cancellation to sign up for the plan at studentaid.gov. “Today’s announcement will help struggling borrowers who have been making...