The DEFINITIVE guide to all the student loan forgiveness Biden has announced so far - do YOU qualify?

President Biden announced another round of student loan forgiveness Thursday, bringing total cancelled debt to $144 billion for 4 million Americans. 

Some 78,000 public service workers will have nearly $6 billion in education debt wiped clean under the latest plan. 

Last summer, the President's ambitious plan to cancel $400 billion of studen debt in one go was blocked by the Supreme Court.

Instead, he has announced a series of smaller forgiveness options - but who exactly is eligible for the different forms of relief can be confusing. 

So, DailyMail.com and GOBankingRates here explain the schemes so far, and who qualifies. Today's round is under the public service loan forgiveness section.

So far, President Biden has cancelled $144 billion in student debt for almost 4 million Americans

Income-driven repayment plans - $45.6 billion

Weeks after the Supreme Court ruled the government had overstepped its mark with its forgiveness plan, Biden announced in July 2023 that over 800,000 Americans would have $40 billion in debts wiped out. 

This is part of a one-time adjustment to help address any inaccuracies in payment counts for borrowers in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans.

It was announced that those who had been making payments for between 20 and 25 years would have their debts wiped due to 'fixes' in the system that calculates the repayment plans. 

IDR plans are supposed to allow forgiveness after the borrower makes a certain number of monthly payments. They are typically lower than standard repayment plans, and monthly payments can be zero in some cases.  

But the plans have been criticized over the years for poor communication between the Education Department, loan servicers and borrowers.

Many Americans had been left confused by the system, which meant they struggled to get the debt erasure they were promised. 

'For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,' US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said at the time.

'By fixing past administrative failures, we are ensuring everyone gets the forgiveness they deserve.'

'For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,' US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said

Whitney Barkley-Denney, deputy director of state policy at the Center for Responsible Lending, told DailyMail.com: 'This situation was due, in part, to unsuccessful marketing efforts, but also because servicers were not required to inform consumers about the program and their ability to qualify for it. 

'This led to borrowers being placed in deferment after deferment, even if their repayment under an IDR would have been affordable.'

The first round of qualifying borrowers who met the necessary criteria were notified last summer. 

The next round was announced in October 2023, where 51,000 borrowers on IDR plans had their debts canceled under adjustments to the 'broken' system.

Then a third wave of 29,700 people who had been paying back their loans for at least two decades were notified in January this year - amounting to approximately $1.7 billion in aid. 

Also in January this year, Biden fast-tracked relief for those who have been in repayment for a decade or more and originally took out $12,000 or less.

To be eligible under this particular round of forgiveness, people had to be enrolled in The Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE plan.

The SAVE plan offers far more generous terms than several other income-driven repayment plans that it was designed to replace. 

While 30 million people are eligible for the plan, only 6.9 million are currently enrolled.

Overall, these improvements to IDR plans have resulted in $45.6 billion in debt relief for 930,500 borrowers, according to the White House. 

Whitney Barkley-Denney, deputy director of state policy at the Center for Responsible Lending, said many borrowers were unaware they were eligible for IDR plans

Public Service Loan Forgiveness - $62.5 billion

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was signed into law in 2007, allows government employees to have their loans discharged after ten years of repayment. 

But it has also long been criticized for poor communication between the Education Department, loan servicers and borrowers - and errors keeping track of payment counts.

Workers frequently found that all or some of their payments did not count because they were enrolled in a plan not covered by the initiative. 

'Since day one we have been passionate about fixing the public service loan forgiveness program so that our teachers don't have to work a second or third job bartending or Ubering to make ends meet and pay off their student loans,' Miguel Cardona wrote on X, formerly Twitter, earlier this year. 

The Biden administration has also forgiven the debts of thousands of teachers, nurses, firefighters and other people who have worked in public service for a decade or more (Pictured: Firefighters in New York City)

The White House has broadened the eligibility of the program and allowed Americans to reapply for the relief as long as they are still working in the public service and making on-time repayments. 

Around 790,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters and other workers had their debt erased, amounting to almost $57 billion in aid, in the first rounds of cancellation.

The latest round, announced Thursday, saw a further 78,000 public service workers have $5.8 billion in education debt wiped clean.

Borrowers can find out more information about the plan's requirements on the Federal Student Aid website. 

Borrowers with disabilities - $11.7 billion 

Under the Biden administration, $11.7 billion in loan forgiveness has been approved for 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability under the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge. 

The Department of Education has improved its process for identifying borrowers who are disabled and in need of this relief by accessing information from the Social Security Administration.

Biden forgave the loans of borrowers who attended the now defunct ITT Technical Institute

Legal settlements - $22.5 billion

The remaining loan forgiveness - $22.5 billion - has gone to borrowers who had their schools suddenly close, or who claimed to be defrauded by institutions.

For example, in June 2022 the Biden administration said it would cancel the federal student loan debts of about 200,000 borrowers who claimed to be defrauded by their schools. 

The announcement followed a class-action lawsuit settlement filed in federal court.

A couple of months later, the Education Department said it would discharge all remaining federal student loans borrowers received to attend ITT Technical Institute from January 1, 2005 through the school's closure in September 2016.

The Biden administration has processed these applications more quickly, and has begun considering cases in a group rather than making each student of a particular school prove they were misled. 

The Biden administration is working on a 'Plan B' after its ambitious plan to cancel up to $400 billion in loans for millions of Americans was struck down by the Supreme Court last summer

Will there be further relief this year? 

Republicans and critics claim the relief plans so far are putting a huge burden on taxpayers, and are unfair to the millions of Americans who did not get a college education.

But according to a CNBC interview with Congressman James Clyburn last month, the Department of Education will continue cancelling debt for a further 75,000 borrowers every two months for the next four years. 

He said the relief would come under the changes to the income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. 

Experts also say that the Biden administration's student loan bankruptcy policy is making it easier for borrowers to walk away from their debt in court.

The Biden administration is now working to adapt its broad forgiveness plan to make it legally viable. 

The Supreme Court struck down President Biden's original $400 billion student loans forgiveness plan in June 2023, with the justices ruling 6-3 against

While it is not yet clear exactly what this so-called 'Plan B' would involve, it may seek to narrow relief to more targeted groups.

This includes those who have balances greater than what they originally borrowed and students from poor quality schools.

The Education Department is also considering extending the relief to another borrower group, which it describes as those experiencing 'financial hardship', but the definition of this has not been set in stone.

'Plan B' still comes with a long list of unknowns, as a draft of the proposal is still in the works, but concrete details are expected later this year.

According to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, it is possible somewhere between 4 million and 10 million borrowers will be eligible for the revised forgiveness program.