Student Loan Discharge for Disabled Veterans
If VA rates you 100 percent, or totally disabled because you cannot work, your federal student loans may be wiped out.
What it is
Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge is a Department of Education program that can cancel your federal student loans and TEACH Grants. Veterans have their own path: you do not need a doctor to certify you if VA has already made the right decision.
Who qualifies
- VA has awarded you a service-connected disability (or disabilities) that is 100% disabling, or
- VA has decided you are totally disabled based on an individual unemployability rating (TDIU).
- The application form says you do not qualify on a VA decision if the disability is not service-connected.
Not sure what TDIU is? VA explains it here: VA: Individual Unemployability.
Student Loan Discharge for Disabled Veterans
What it gives you
The loan balance is discharged (cancelled). Education's own page says it works with VA every quarter to find veterans who qualify and sends them a discharge letter. On federal taxes, the IRS says a student loan discharged on account of death or total and permanent disability "may be nontaxable," and the law (26 U.S.C. 108(f)(5)) excludes it from gross income. For a discharge after 2025 the IRS says you must include a valid Social Security number on your tax return. I did not confirm your state's tax treatment, so ask your state tax office.
How to get it, step by step
- Look in your mail and your StudentAid.gov account for a discharge letter. Education says you may not get one right away after VA makes its decision.
- No letter? Apply yourself. Go to the TPD discharge page on StudentAid.gov and sign in with your FSA ID, or use the paper application (PDF). Veterans use Section 8, "Discharge Based on Documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs."
- Attach your VA proof showing the date VA awarded the 100% rating or the unemployability decision (your VA award letter).
- Send a paper application to: U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 300010, Greenville, TX 75403.
- Track your application in your StudentAid.gov account under "My Activity."
Traps
- A rating below 100% with no TDIU does not qualify on the VA path.
- If you cannot get the VA decision letter, get it first: see how below under VA help.
Where to call and where to go
Phone
- TPD discharge line (Federal Student Aid TPD): 1-888-303-7818. Hours are not posted on the page I read. Source: edfinancial.studentaid.gov/tpd
- Federal Student Aid customer service: 800-433-3243. Source: FSA help center page
- VA main information line (MyVA411), 24/7: 1-800-698-2411 (TTY: 711). Source: va.gov/contact-us
Official pages
- Apply for TPD discharge (StudentAid.gov) (the page is built with JavaScript and may show only "Loading" for a moment)
- How veterans qualify for TPD discharge
- TPD discharge application (PDF)
Free accredited help
- Find an accredited representative to get a rating, a TDIU decision or your award letter.