Student Debt

This brief illustrates that while many borrowers in IDR will repay their loans in full, those who do receive a discharge of remaining debt after 20 or 25 years of responsible payments may face an unaffordable tax liability because these discharged amounts are treated as taxable income under current law.

Like other proposals before it, the College Affordability Act (CAA) — House Democrats’ comprehensive proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act — makes major progress in improving the federal student loan repayment system. In this blog post, we outline the major components of the new repayment system under the CAA, which is a strong starting point for much-needed...

New data show that the average student debt for college graduates continues to climb but at a slower pace. Nationally, about two in three (65 percent) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2018 had student loan debt. These borrowers owed an average of $29,200, 2 percent higher than the 2017 average.

New data show that the average student debt for college graduates continues to climb but at a slower pace. Nationally, about two in three (65 percent) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2018 had student loan debt. These borrowers owed an average of $29,200, 2 percent higher than the 2017 average.

This brief reviews the details of major proposals from policy makers and policy organizations to streamline and reform income-driven repayment of federal student loans. The brief identifies encouraging consensus on a number of important details, as well as some areas of remaining divergence.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the first income-driven repayment (IDR) plan being made available for federal student loan borrowers. Over eight million borrowers currently benefit from IDR plans, which base monthly payments on an individual’s income and family size. By keeping monthly payments more affordable, IDR is a critical safety net for struggling borrowers that...