Student Debt

The current student loan payment relief benefits have provided vital economic support to upwards of 33 million borrowers who can better cover their basic needs during the pandemic without having to worry about their balances ballooning from unpaid interest, or their loans falling into delinquency or default. Without policymaker action, these protections will expire on December.

More than six in ten (62%) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt and they owed an average of $28,950. This is a lower share of students than the Class of 2018 (65%), and a very slight decline (less than 1%) in total debt from the 2018 average of $29,200.

More than six in ten (62%) college seniors who graduated from public and private nonprofit colleges in 2019 had student loan debt and they owed an average of $28,950. This is a lower share of students than the Class of 2018 (65%), and a very slight decline (less than 1%) in total debt from the 2018 average of $29,200.

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.