A Parent PLUS loan, or Direct PLUS loan, is a form of federal student aid in which a parent borrower may take out a loan to cover the remaining costs of their child's education. When it comes time to begin repayment, you may have some options in regard to forgiveness. Federal Parent PLUS loans are not eligible for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) program; however, depending on when your first Parent PLUS loan was made, they may be eligible for forgiveness through the employment-based Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
Legally speaking, since the Parent PLUS loans that you took out on behalf of your child or children belong to you, any forgiveness eligibility will be based on your employment.
New Parent PLUS Borrowers (First Loan On or After July 1, 2026)
If your first Parent PLUS loan was made on or after July 1, 2026, your repayment options are limited to the Tiered Standard Repayment Plan. The Tiered Standard plan does not qualify for PSLF, which means new Parent PLUS borrowers will not have a path to PSLF forgiveness. Additionally, if you are an existing Parent PLUS borrower and you take out any new Direct Loan on or after July 1, 2026, all of your loans will be limited to the Tiered Standard plan only.
Please also be aware that beginning July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS loans are subject to new borrowing limits:
- Annual limit: $20,000 per dependent student
- Aggregate lifetime limit: $65,000 per dependent student
Amounts that have been repaid, forgiven, canceled, or discharged do not reset the aggregate limit.
Existing Parent PLUS Borrowers (First Loan Before July 1, 2026)
If you already have Parent PLUS loans made before July 1, 2026, you may still have a path to PSLF — but only if you consolidate those loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan before July 1, 2026 and make at least one qualifying IDR payment through July 1, 2028. If you meet those conditions, you can transition to IBR (Income-Based Repayment) and retain PSLF eligibility.
As a quick recap, you must meet the following criteria to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness:
- You must work for a government agency or for certain types of nonprofit organizations; work at least 30 hours per week for that agency or organization.
- You must have Federal Direct Loans (or consolidate other federal student loans to qualify). FFEL loans are not acceptable, nor are private student loans.
- You must repay your loans on an eligible repayment plan.
- You must make 120 qualifying on-time payments (roughly ten years; they do not have to be consecutive).
Click here for more information about these requirements.
Parent PLUS loans that have not been consolidated are limited to the Standard repayment plan (or, for loans made on or after July 1, 2026, the Tiered Standard plan). In most cases, these plans will have the loans paid off before you would receive forgiveness through PSLF.
If you have already consolidated your Parent PLUS loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan before July 1, 2026, payments under the IBR (Income-Based Repayment) plan will count toward PSLF — as long as you maintain PSLF eligibility as described above.
You can read more about consolidation here: Overview of Consolidation