The Education Department has publicly confirmed that it is reversing some Public Service Loan Forgiveness credits for borrowers, citing data errors from the Biden administration’s 2024 efforts to fix past servicing mistakes. Borrowers began reporting last week that their qualifying PSLF payment counts had suddenly dropped, pushing them further from the 120 qualifying payments needed to discharge their remaining student loan balance after 10 years of service in public or nonprofit work.
The department attributed the reversals to “multiple PSLF counter code errors stemming from changes implemented in May 2024 under the Biden Administration,” according to a statement from Education Department spokesperson Ellen Keast. The Biden administration had granted credits to borrowers through programs like the Limited PSLF Waiver and One-Time IDR Account Adjustment to correct account mismanagement by loan servicers, but those efforts inadvertently created data problems that the Trump administration is now removing.
When the Education Department initially responded to borrower complaints, Federal Student Aid call center staff told borrowers the sudden payment count reductions were due to an unspecified data error that would be corrected. The department posted a banner on StudentAid.gov dashboards stating that PSLF payment counts were “incorrect” and would be updated. However, the department then clarified that at least some of the reversals were deliberate corrections to system errors, not accidental glitches.
The scope of the reversal remains unclear. The Education Department has not disclosed how many borrowers are affected or whether borrowers who lost legitimate PSLF credits will have them restored. Some borrowers reported on Reddit and other forums that they lost payments that should have counted under normal PSLF rules—they were in repayment on Direct federal student loans, making payments under income-driven repayment plans, and working in qualifying public service jobs.
The reversal comes as the Biden administration’s PSLF efforts had significantly expanded access to the program. By January 2026, over 1.2 million borrowers had received $90.6 billion in forgiveness under PSLF, with an average relief of nearly $75,000 per borrower, according to analysis from the Brookings Institution cited in reporting by Politico. That expansion followed years of program failures caused by servicer errors and administrative mismanagement.
Critics have called the reversal troubling. Julia Barnard, former student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and now with the Debt Collective, told Politico that “playing games with people’s payment counts is profoundly cruel.” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement that “losing credit toward forgiveness is more than just a technical issue to borrowers” and threatened legal action if the department does not ensure public service workers are made whole.
The reversal is part of broader turbulence in federal student loan programs since the Trump administration’s overhaul took effect on July 1, 2026. Borrowers have reported receiving incorrect monthly payment amounts, erroneous past-due notices, and application backlogs. The Education Department also recently instituted a new rule requiring that payments be made on time to count toward PSLF, tightening eligibility compared to previous grace periods. The department has said it is aware of ongoing issues and addresses them as they arise, but advocates have expressed concern about the toll the confusion is taking on borrowers trying to manage their debt.
Sources
- Forbes — Education Department’s confirmation of PSLF credit reversal and scope of borrower confusion
- Politico — Trump administration clawing back credits, Biden-era errors, and expert commentary from Julia Barnard
- Business Insider — Education Department statement on coding errors and borrower impact
- Brookings Institution — PSLF forgiveness statistics (1.2 million borrowers, $90.6 billion, average $75,000 relief) as cited in Politico
