PSLF Buyback: How to Get Credit for Forbearance Months

Forgiveness Watch · Published November 3, 2026 · Rules checked October 31, 2026 · 8 min read

If you've worked in public service for ten years but some of those months were spent in deferment or forbearance, PSLF Buyback can turn them into qualifying payments. You pay what you would have paid on an income-driven plan, and if that gets you to 120, the rest of your balance is forgiven tax-free. Here's how it works as of November 2026, including the long wait.

Quick answer

Who it's for: borrowers who already have 120 months of certified qualifying employment, where buying back past deferment or forbearance months would bring them to 120 qualifying payments.
What you pay: roughly what your income-driven payment would have been for those months. It can be $0 if your income was low enough.
How to apply: file a PSLF reconsideration request on StudentAid.gov and choose PSLF Buyback. There's no separate form.
The catch: about 82,000 requests were pending in October 2026, and ED doesn't publish a processing time. Once you get an offer, you have 90 days to pay.
SAVE forbearance months can be bought back, but ED no longer prices them using the SAVE formula.

How PSLF Buyback works

PSLF requires 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a government agency or 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Months spent in most deferments or forbearances don't count, even if you were working for a qualifying employer the whole time. Buyback, created by regulation in 2023, lets you go back and make a payment for those months so they count.

Buyback converts non-payment months into payment months. It does not create employment credit. That's why you need 120 months of certified qualifying employment before you apply, and why the buyback has to actually get you to forgiveness.

Which months can you buy back?

Usually eligible	Not eligible
Deferment or forbearance months on or after October 1, 2007, while you had certified qualifying employment	In-school deferment and the grace period
SAVE litigation forbearance (the administrative forbearance that started in 2024)	Months in default or bankruptcy
Other forbearances that didn't already count for PSLF	Deferment or forbearance before your most recent consolidation
	Months already repaid under RAP or the Tiered Standard plan

If you have a Direct Consolidation Loan, the reach-back goes only to the later of October 2007 or that consolidation loan's earliest disbursement date. You don't need to be working for a qualifying employer today, but your loan must still have a balance when you apply.

What it costs

The buyback price is based on what you would have paid on a qualifying income-driven plan during those months:

Short gaps (under 12 months): generally the lower of your IDR payment just before and just after the gap, times the number of months.
Longer gaps: ED may ask for tax returns and a family-size statement for each year so it can calculate year by year. If you don't respond in time, the price can default to the 10-year Standard payment, which is usually much higher.
$0 is possible: if your income during those months would have produced a $0 IDR payment, the buyback can cost $0.
SAVE months: in 2026 ED said buyback offers can't be based on the SAVE formula and are recalculated using other IDR plans. For many borrowers that makes SAVE-era months more expensive than they would have been on SAVE.

You receive a formal offer with the amount. You don't have to accept it. And ED's court filings say a buyback offer is made only once per loan, so read it carefully.

How to request a buyback, step by step

Certify all your employment. Use the PSLF Help Tool at StudentAid.gov/pslf to submit forms for every qualifying employer, including past ones. Buyback is only possible once you have 120 months of approved employment.
Find your gap months. Download your loan history and match forbearance and deferment months against your employment dates. Our PSLF Timeline Calculator helps you see how many months you're short.
Submit a PSLF reconsideration request on StudentAid.gov and select PSLF Buyback as the reason. Submit once. Duplicate requests clogged the queue in 2025 and 2026.
Respond fast to document requests. If ED asks for tax returns or family-size information, you'll have a short window, about 30 days.
Pay within 90 days of the agreement. Your servicer must receive the full amount within 90 days. You can split it into multiple payments inside that window. Miss the deadline and the agreement is void. Money you paid is applied to your loans as regular payments, not refunded.
Watch for your forgiveness notice. Keep paying your regular bill until your loans show as discharged.

Don't void your own agreement

Once a buyback agreement is sent, submitting a new PSLF form, applying to consolidate, or paying off the loan can void it. Hold off on all three until the buyback is complete.

The backlog, as of November 2026

Buyback has been slow. In court filings in the American Federation of Teachers' lawsuit against ED, the department reported nearly 90,000 pending requests in March 2026 and about 88,000 on April 30, 2026. In April it decided more requests than it received for the first time, and it estimated that 18,000 to 19,000 of the pending requests were duplicates. In October 2026 ED told The Washington Post about 82,000 were pending. ED has not published an expected processing time, and some borrowers have reported waiting well over a year.

ED also told reporters in October 2026 that RAP and the Tiered Standard plan are not eligible for buyback. If you've moved to RAP, ask your servicer in writing how that affects the earlier months you want to buy back.

Is buyback worth it for you?

Usually yes, if you're short only because of forbearance. But compare it with simply working and paying a few more months:

If you're 3 months short and currently employed by a qualifying employer, three more regular payments may be faster than waiting in the buyback queue.
If you're years short, or you've left public service but your 120 months of employment were already done, buyback may be your only route.
Buyback forgiveness is PSLF forgiveness, so it's federally tax-free. The IDR tax bomb doesn't apply.

You can request buyback and keep making regular qualifying payments at the same time. Whichever gets you to 120 first wins. If you reach 120 through regular payments while your request is pending, apply for forgiveness.

Never pay for student loan help

Buyback is a free request on StudentAid.gov. Be wary of anyone selling “buyback filing” services. Every federal application, from IDR and consolidation to PSLF, discharges and default resolution, is free at StudentAid.gov or through your servicer. Anyone who charges a fee, asks for your FSA ID password, or promises guaranteed forgiveness is a red flag. See how to spot student loan scams.

What to do this week

Submit PSLF employment certification for any employer not yet on your record.
Count your qualifying payments and your gap months with the PSLF Timeline Calculator.
If you have 120 months of employment and forbearance gaps, file one PSLF reconsideration request for buyback.
Gather your tax returns for the gap years now, so you can answer document requests within the deadline.
Keep making your regular payments while you wait.

FAQ

What is PSLF Buyback?

A way to pay for past deferment or forbearance months so they count as PSLF qualifying payments. It's available when you already have 120 months of qualifying employment and buying back months would bring you to 120 payments.

Can I buy back SAVE forbearance months?

Yes, if you had qualifying employment during those months. ED no longer prices buybacks using the SAVE formula, so the cost is based on another income-driven plan.

How much does PSLF Buyback cost?

About what your income-driven payment would have been for those months. It can be $0 if your income was low enough. For long gaps, ED may require tax returns for each year.

How long does PSLF Buyback take?

ED hasn't published a processing time. About 82,000 requests were pending in October 2026, and some borrowers have waited more than a year. After you receive an offer, you have 90 days to pay.

Is buyback forgiveness taxable?

No. It results in PSLF forgiveness, which is federally tax-free.

Sources

Checked October 31, 2026. Rules are changing quickly; when an official notice and this page disagree, the official notice wins.