NP Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

NP student loan forgiveness can pay off a large share of what you borrowed for school, and several programs are open to nurse practitioners who work in public service or in communities that need more clinicians. Some repay part of your loans in exchange for two or three years of service. Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) forgives what’s left of your federal Direct Loans after at least 10 years of qualifying payments while you work for a government or nonprofit employer. We checked every NP student loan forgiveness program below on its own website in October 2026. Federal student loan rules changed on July 1, 2026, so confirm the details on each program’s page before you apply.

TL;DR

• The Nurse Corps repays 60 percent of your qualifying nursing loans for two years of full-time work at a facility with a critical shortage of nurses.
• The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) pays primary care nurse practitioners up to $75,000, tax-free, for two years at an approved site in a shortage area.
• PSLF still forgives your remaining Direct Loans after 120 qualifying payments. If you take out a federal loan on or after July 1, 2026, only payments under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will count.
• In your last year of NP school, the NHSC Students to Service program can award up to $120,000 for three years of service after you graduate.
• State programs, the Indian Health Service, the VA, the military and employers offer more help.

How does NP student loan forgiveness work?

NP student loan forgiveness comes in two forms. Loan repayment programs, such as the Nurse Corps and the NHSC, choose among applicants and pay a set amount or share of your loans, private loans included, while you work at an approved site for two or three years. PSLF forgives the whole remaining balance, but it covers federal Direct Loans only and takes at least 10 years.

What does the Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program pay?

The Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program repays 60 percent of your qualifying nursing education loans over a two-year contract. Once you finish those two years, you may qualify for a third year and an additional 25 percent of your original balance. As a nurse practitioner, you’ll apply as an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN).

• Service: two years of full-time work, at least 32 hours a week, at a Critical Shortage Facility. That’s a public or private health care facility located in, designated as, or serving a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). Hospitals and primary care settings can both qualify.
• Who receives awards: HRSA gives preference to applicants with the greatest financial need, and part of its funding goes to PMHNPs and to APRNs certified in women’s health. For fiscal year 2026, it planned about 380 awards to new applicants.
• Loans: federal and private loans for your nursing education both qualify.
• Taxes: HRSA says the full award is taxable.
• Timing: the 2026 application has closed. Sign up for HRSA’s emails on the program’s page to hear when the next cycle opens.

How much can nurse practitioners receive from the NHSC?

Up to $75,000 for two years of full-time primary care, or up to $50,000 if you provide mental and behavioral health care. The NHSC Loan Repayment Program accepts nurse practitioners in adult, family, pediatric, geriatric and women’s health primary care, and PMHNPs serving in a mental health HPSA.

• Service: at least two years at an NHSC-approved site in a HPSA. Full time means at least 40 hours a week for 45 weeks a year. Half-time contracts pay up to $37,500 for primary care or $25,000 for mental health care.
• Spanish-language award: up to $5,000 more in 2026 if you pass a Spanish proficiency assessment and care for patients in Spanish.
• After two years: continuation contracts pay up to $20,000 for each extra year of service. HRSA says this may let you pay off most or all of your education debt.
• Taxes: by law, NHSC loan repayment is exempt from federal income and employment taxes.
• Timing: the 2026 cycle has closed. To apply in a future cycle, you’ll need your license and a job, or an accepted job offer, at an NHSC-approved site by the deadline.

If you treat substance use disorder, two related NHSC programs pay up to $75,000, or up to $100,000 at rural sites, for three years at an approved treatment facility. HRSA’s loan repayment programs page lists them side by side with its other programs, including two more that accept some NPs: STAR and Pediatric Specialty.

Checked October 2026. Confirm current amounts and dates on each program’s page before you apply.

Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness still available?

Yes. PSLF forgives the remaining balance on your federal Direct Loans after you make the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time, at least 30 hours a week, for a qualifying employer. Your employer matters, not your job title. Federal, state, local and tribal government employers qualify, including the U.S. military, and so do nonprofits that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3). Nonprofit hospitals and clinics with that status count too.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed which repayment plans count:

• If all your federal loans were first paid out before July 1, 2026, payments under the 10-year Standard Plan or an income-driven plan (RAP, IBR, ICR or PAYE) can count.
• If you take out a federal loan on or after July 1, 2026, then once it enters repayment, all your Direct Loans must be in RAP or the new Tiered Standard Plan. Only RAP payments count toward PSLF, and only when you pay the full amount on time.
• Private student loans never qualify. FFEL and Perkins loans can qualify after you consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan.

Submit a PSLF form through the PSLF Help Tool every year and whenever you change employers. Each form updates your count of qualifying payments, so you’ll know you’re on track long before year 10.

Which states offer nurse practitioner loan repayment?

Many do. HRSA’s current State Loan Repayment Program grants fund programs in 42 states and Washington, D.C., along with two U.S. territories and Palau. Each program sets its own eligible disciplines, practice sites, service length and award amount, and nurse practitioners are among the clinicians states can accept.

• Find your state on HRSA’s list of state programs, then contact that state’s program office. Application periods vary from state to state.
• PSLF and a state award can run together. HRSA says the state programs don’t treat PSLF as a service obligation.
• Finish any other service commitment first. A state award can’t start while you owe service under another contract, such as an NHSC award or a sign-on bonus that requires you to stay for a set time.

What do the Indian Health Service, the VA and the military offer?

Each one helps repay loans for clinicians in its own health care system. Jobs with the VA, the military and federal IHS facilities are government jobs, so they can count toward PSLF too.

Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program

The IHS Loan Repayment Program pays up to $50,000 toward your loans for an initial two-year commitment at a health facility serving American Indian and Alaska Native communities, and you can extend the contract each year while you still have qualifying loans. Family, geriatric, pediatric, psychiatric and women’s health NPs are eligible.

The program is open to all health professionals, and American Indian and Alaska Native applicants receive priority when other factors are equal. IHS accepts applications from October 1 to August 15, so the fiscal year 2027 cycle is open now. The award is taxable, and IHS pays part of the federal tax on it.

VA Education Debt Reduction Program

The VA’s Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) reimburses your student loan payments, up to $40,000 a year and $200,000 over five years. VA offers EDRP for some positions, and its nurse practitioner job postings say when a position includes it. Apply within four months of your start date. VA says the payments are tax-free and come with no mandatory service agreement.

Military loan repayment

The Army’s Health Professions Loan Repayment Program covers nursing loans and repays up to $250,000, depending on your specialty and whether you serve on active duty or in the Army Reserve. The Navy lists its own Health Professions Loan Repayment Program among its medical programs. Terms differ by branch, specialty and service status, so ask a health care recruiter for the current numbers before you commit.

Can your employer help repay your student loans?

Yes, if your employer offers it. Under section 127 of the tax code, an employer’s educational assistance program can pay up to $5,250 a year toward your student loans tax-free, and the IRS says that limit will rise with the cost of living after 2026. The $5,250 limit covers loan payments and any other educational assistance, such as tuition help, combined each year. Your employer can pay your loan servicer directly or pay you, and it doesn’t matter when you took out the loan.

Ask about loan repayment when you compare job offers, along with sign-on bonuses and tuition benefits. Get the terms in writing, including whether you’ll need to stay for a set time or pay the benefit back if you leave early.

Which NP student loan forgiveness program fits you?

Start with the setting you want to work in, then match it to the programs that reward that work.

• A nonprofit hospital, community clinic or government job: PSLF, plus any state program or employer benefit you qualify for.
• Primary care or psychiatric care in a shortage area: the NHSC, the Nurse Corps or your state’s program.
• A hospital with a critical shortage of nurses: the Nurse Corps.
• An Indian health facility or tribal health program: the IHS, or NHSC funding set aside for primary care clinicians at these sites.
• The VA or the military: EDRP or your branch’s loan repayment program, along with PSLF.
• A private practice or other for-profit employer: an employer repayment benefit, or the NHSC if the practice is an approved site in a shortage area.

Read each contract before you sign. If you end an NHSC contract early, you’ll repay everything you received under it. And if you already owe service under another contract, the NHSC requires proof that you’ll finish it before its deadline.

What can you do while you’re still in NP school?

A lot. The choices you make in school affect which NP student loan forgiveness programs you’ll qualify for after you graduate, so it’s worth planning while you’re still a student.

1. Know which loans qualify. Federal Direct Loans qualify for PSLF, and private loans don’t. If you first borrow on or after July 1, 2026, graduate study has a limit of $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total, with no Grad PLUS loans. If you borrowed earlier, you may keep the older limits through June 2029 under an interim exception. Ask your financial aid office which limits apply to you. A June 24, 2026, court order paused part of the federal definition of a professional degree, which comes with higher limits.
2. Look into the NHSC Students to Service program in your final year. As a full-time NP student in your last year, you can apply for up to $120,000, tax-free, in exchange for three years of full-time service at an NHSC-approved site after graduation. Eligible NP specialties are adult, family, pediatric, women’s health, geriatrics, and psychiatry and mental health. HRSA lists the next cycle as opening soon, and the last deadline was November 6, 2025.
3. Ask about rotations where you might work. HRSA’s Health Workforce Connector lists jobs and training opportunities at NHSC-approved sites. A rotation at one of these sites shows you the work before you commit years to it, and our guide explains how NP clinicals can lead to job offers.
4. Apply for scholarships. Every dollar you don’t borrow is a dollar you won’t need forgiven. Our guide to nurse practitioner scholarships includes the NHSC and Nurse Corps scholarships, which pay tuition, fees and a monthly stipend in exchange for service.
5. Budget for clinicals. Clinical hours are unpaid, as our article Do You Get Paid for Clinicals? explains, so plan for lower work income during rotations before you decide how much to borrow. For more ways to pay for school, see our guide to essential NP student resources.
6. Keep every loan record. Save your disbursement records and recent statements. The NHSC and Nurse Corps ask for them when you apply.

NP student loan forgiveness: common questions

Can nurse practitioners qualify for student loan forgiveness?

Yes. Nurse practitioners can qualify for PSLF by working full time for a government or nonprofit employer, and for loan repayment through the Nurse Corps, the NHSC, state programs, the IHS, the VA and the military.

How long does NP student loan forgiveness take?

It depends on the program. The Nurse Corps, NHSC and IHS ask for two or three years of service, and each lets you extend for more awards. PSLF takes at least 10 years, because you need 120 qualifying monthly payments.

Can you have all of your student loans forgiven?

Sometimes. PSLF forgives everything left on your federal Direct Loans after 120 qualifying payments. Repayment programs can also clear your balance over time, since the NHSC and IHS both let you extend your contract for more awards.

Are loan repayment awards taxable?

Some are. NHSC awards are exempt from federal income and employment taxes, and VA says EDRP payments are tax-free. The Nurse Corps award is taxable, and so is the IHS award, though IHS pays part of the federal tax. Federal Student Aid says amounts forgiven under PSLF aren’t income for tax purposes. A tax professional can tell you how the rules apply to you.

Checked October 2026. Confirm current amounts, dates and rules on each program’s page before you apply.

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