Get Ready to Repay

Log in to your Nelnet.com account and view the Repayment Planning section, which will display an estimated amount you’ll pay each month once the pause ends.

Once you’ve logged in to your account, view the Account Summary section on your dashboard to find your balance.

We will only send you a new payment schedule if your prior payment amount is changing. If this applies to you, you can log in to your Nelnet.com account, select Documents from the menu, and choose Payment Schedule 31 to 45 days before your first payment due date.

If you were in repayment before the payment pause, your monthly payment amount should not change unless you have applied for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan or a recalculation of your IDR payment during the pause. If you were in a deferment or forbearance before the payment pause, it may be necessary to adjust your monthly payment amount to ensure you’re able to repay your loan(s) within the remaining term.

Payments will begin no sooner than February 1, 2022. Your specific first payment due date is listed on your Nelnet.com dashboard in the Repayment Planning section.

The 0% interest rate period and payment pause end January 31, 2022. We’ll send you a billing statement, either by email or mail depending on your communication preference, approximately three weeks before a payment is due. Make sure your contact information is up to date in your Nelnet.com account.

Absolutely. Continuing to make payments during the payment pause could help you pay down your loan balance more quickly. The full amount of a payment will be applied to your outstanding principal balance once you’ve paid all (if any) interest that accrued before March 13, 2020. There is no penalty for paying less than your regular monthly payment amount during the payment pause.

Sure! If you want to make payments during the payment pause, simply log in to your Nelnet.com account and select Pay Now or use our mobile app. You can also mail payments to the U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 2837, Portland, OR 97208-2837. Be sure to include write your account number, including the “E”, on your check.

On Nelnet.com, we have an informative page called “How Are Payments Allocated?” that explains the order in which the amount you pay is attributed to principal and interest, including in cases where payments are not required or you pay more than is due.

To make payments using your bank’s online bill pay service, make sure you arrange with your financial institution to resume payments by your due date.

If your bank’s bill pay service requires an address to be entered when setting up the request, please use:

U.S. Department of Education
P.O. Box 2837
Portland, OR 97208-2837

To determine whether you’re currently enrolled in auto debit, log in to your Nelnet.com account and select Payments, then Auto Debit. If you’re not enrolled in auto debit, but want to sign up, select the “Setup Auto Debit” button on the auto debit page.

Once auto debit is set up, you’ll be notified via email or mail, depending upon your communication preference, of the date that auto debit will begin withdrawing your payments from the checking or savings account you have designated.

No. If you haven’t already, you must confirm that you want to remain in auto debit for your payments to be made using that method. If you do not elect to stay enrolled in auto debit by January 17, 2022, your auto debit will be cancelled, you’ll lose the .25% reduction on your interest rate, and you’ll need to make other payment arrangements when the COVID-19 payment pause ends. Log in to your Nelnet.com account, and you’ll be prompted to confirm enrollment in auto debit.

The interest rate during the entire COVID-19 payment pause is 0%, so no interest has accrued during this period. When the payment pause ends on January 31, 2022, no interest will capitalize (be added to your outstanding principal balance). If you had accrued interest from before the payment pause, capitalization of that interest will be delayed until after July 31, 2022.

For more information about interest capitalization, refer to our “Interest Capitalization” page.

You may be eligible to lower your monthly student loan payment by enrolling in an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan. Under an IDR Plan, payments may be as low as $0 per month. Apply for an IDR Plan and select the box to be placed on the repayment plan that will provide you with the lowest monthly payment.

To help you find the best option for your situation, we will need to ask you some questions. Log in to your Nelnet.com account, choose Payments from the menu, and then Repayment Options.

You may have heard about discussions in the federal government concerning loan forgiveness, or cancellation, for student loan borrowers. While there are several existing federal student loan discharge and forgiveness programs, there is no COVID-19-related loan forgiveness. At this time, all federal student loan borrowers who are in repayment are expected to start making payments after the payment pause ends on January 31, 2022.

Yes, paused payments count toward PSLF as long as you meet all other qualifications. You will receive credit as though you made on-time monthly payments in the correct amount while on a qualifying repayment plan. Borrowers may receive credit toward PSLF during the payment pause if they later enter the PSLF program.

No – Nelnet will help you for free! You never have to pay for assistance with your federal student loans. Contact us for free help with questions or concerns. Learn how to avoid student aid scams.

Yes, you can apply for IDR Plan during the payment pause, and you will not need to begin making payments until February 1, 2022, at the earliest. Applying now may help you by allowing you to base your IDR Plan on your current income. If you apply now, you may also get your request processed before the potential rush of requests from fellow student loan borrowers when payments resume.

If you’re interested in applying for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan, you may apply online at StudentAid.gov and select the box to be placed on the repayment plan that will provide you with the lowest monthly payment. You can also call Nelnet at 888.486.4722 to request an IDR Plan over the phone.

You will not have to recertify your income before the end of the COVID-19 emergency relief period, even if your recertification date would have happened prior to the end of the relief period. IDR Plan annual recertification due dates occurring between March 13, 2020, and July 31, 2022, are all now due no sooner than July 31, 2022.

Nelnet will send you a notification via mail or email, based on your communication preference, with your new recertification date before it is time to recertify.

Yes, you sure can. If your income has changed significantly, you can request a new payment amount based on your current income. To do so, log in to StudentAid.gov, select the button next to “Recalculate my monthly payment,” and complete the recalculation request. You can also call Nelnet at 888.486.4722 to request an IDR Plan recalculation over the phone. If you are approved for a lower payment amount, after the payment pause ends, your monthly payments will resume at the new lower amount.

Yes. Payments paused by the U.S. Department of Education due to COVID-19 count toward IDR forgiveness as long as you meet all of the other forgiveness qualifications.

Check out this StudentAid.gov page for a summary of how the COVID-19 emergency affects students and in-school borrowers.

Your loan payments will remain suspended, and your interest rate will remain at 0% until the end of the COVID-19 emergency relief period on January 31, 2022. For example, say your loans entered repayment after the end of your grace period on April 15, 2020. In this case, your payments would continue to be suspended from April 15, 2020, through January 31, 2022. The interest rate on your loans would be 0% during this period.

Unless you’ve requested a different repayment plan, your loan servicer will place your student loans in the Standard Repayment Plan when the payment pause ends. The Standard Repayment Plan keeps your regular monthly payment amount the same each month for your full 10-year repayment term.

If you have concerns about your ability to make your monthly payment amount when payments begin, consider an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan. An IDR Plan may help provide an affordable regular monthly payment.

If you’re interested in applying for an Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plan, you may apply online at StudentAid.gov and select the box to be placed on the repayment plan that will provide you with the lowest monthly payment. You can also call Nelnet at 888.486.4722 to request an IDR Plan over the phone.

If you had been granted a cancer treatment deferment prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency, your loan(s) was placed into the payment pause. Cancer treatment deferment annual recertification due dates occurring between March 13, 2020, and July 31, 2022, are all now due no sooner than July 31, 2022. We will send notification (via mail or email, depending upon your communication preference) of your new recertification due date before it is time to recertify. When the payment pause ends, you will be placed back into the cancer treatment deferment.

• Example 1: If your cancer treatment deferment recertification was due on October 1, 2021, the new recertification date is October 1, 2022.
• Example 2: If your next cancer treatment deferment recertification was originally scheduled to occur on February 15, 2022, it is now scheduled for February 15, 2023.

The IRS Form 1098-E Student Loan Interest Statement is a record of your interest paid on your federal student loans for a given tax year. You can deduct some or all of your interest paid from your federal tax return, which could reduce the amount you pay in income tax.

Because few loan payments were required and interest rates were at 0% for much of 2020, most borrowers paid little to no interest in 2020 compared to previous years. And because the payment pause and 0% interest rate were extended to cover all of 2021 (ending January 31, 2022), most borrowers have not paid interest in – and should not expect a 1098-E statement for – the 2021 tax year. To determine how much of your paid interest may be deducted and to get answers to other tax-related questions, we recommend that you contact your tax advisor; refer to IRS Publication 970, “Tax Benefits for Education”; or use the “Student Loan Interest Deduction Worksheet” in your Form 1040 instructions.

Here are some other tips for getting prepared for repayment to begin after January 31, 2022:

• Learn about all the ways you can make a student loan payment.
• Download the Nelnet Mobile app from the Apple iStore or Google Play for another handy way to manage your loans.
• Follow us on social media ( Facebook and Twitter)
• Check out our website's FAQs for helpful information about federal student loans.

Nelnet's goal is to provide you with the best service possible. We're in this together.