Perkins Loan

Perkins Loans may be cancelled or forgiven for a number of reasons. The Federal government uses loan forgiveness as a way to recruit people into professions that are understaffed or into geographic areas of need. We discussed some of the major methods of Perkins Loan cancellation in our related article on this site. Here we sample some of the other opportunities for forgiving Perkins Loans.

Perkins Loan Forgiveness for Entering the Teaching Profession

In addition to the Federal programs identified in the Perkins Loan Cancellation section, there are many state and private student loan forgiveness opportunities. The American Federation of Teachers maintains a website that lists additional forgiveness opportunities. (http://www.aft.org/teachers/jft/loanforgiveness.htm)

Federal Student Loan Repayment Program Perkins Loan Forgiveness

The Federal Student Loan Repayment Program allows federal agencies to establish loan forgiveness programs that help recruit and retain employees. This is technically not technically a loan forgiveness program because the agencies make payments directly to you as the loan holder and those payments represent taxable income to you that can be used to pay your loan obligation. The agencies can repay up to $10,000 in Federal student loans per employee per calendar year, with a cumulative maximum of $60,000 per employee

National Institutes of Health Perkins Loan Forgiveness

The US National Institutes of Health’s NIH Loan Repayment Programs repays up to $35,000/year of student loan debt for US citizens who are conducting clinical medical research.

Law School Perkins Loan Forgiveness

Many law schools forgive the loans of students who serve in public interest or non-profit positions. Additional information can be found by contacting Equal Justice Works (formerly the National Association for Public Interest Law) at 2120 L Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20037-1541 (phone 1-202-466-3686 or fax 1-202-429-9766. (http://www.equaljusticeworks.org)

Perkins Loan Forgiveness and Tax Issues

Under current law, the amount of a Perkins loan forgiven represents taxable income for Federal income tax purposes in the year it is written off. However, there are exceptions. If you become eligible for some form of loan forgiveness, be sure to check your state and Federal law to determine how the loan income will be treated.