What the payment count pause means for your loan balance

The payment count pause is a temporary suspension of the count toward forgiveness on federal student loans. When this pause is in effect, you can make payments on your loan, but those payments do not count toward the number of payments required for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) or income-driven repayment plan forgiveness. The pause freezes your progress toward forgiveness at whatever number you had reached when it began.

This is different from a payment deferment or forbearance, where you stop making payments altogether. During a payment count pause, you are still expected to pay if you are able to do so. The pause only affects whether those payments move you closer to forgiveness.

Payment count pauses have occurred at specific times in recent years — most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic when the federal government suspended loan payments and interest accrual. When a pause ends, your payment count resumes as normal, and any payments you made during the pause period do not retroactively count toward forgiveness.

Key Takeaways

  • During a payment count pause, your payments continue but do not count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness or income-driven repayment forgiveness.
  • A payment count pause is not the same as a payment pause — you are still required to make payments during a count pause unless you are in deferment or forbearance.
  • Payments made during a count pause do not retroactively count toward forgiveness once the pause ends.
  • You can check your current payment count and pause status on your loan servicer's website or by calling your servicer directly.
  • If you are pursuing PSLF, a payment count pause delays your timeline to forgiveness but does not eliminate your progress.

How a payment count pause differs from other payment suspensions

A payment pause means you stop making payments and interest does not accrue. A payment count pause means you can still make payments, but they do not count toward forgiveness. These are two separate things, and it is important to know which one applies to your loan.

During a full payment pause (like the one that ran from March 2020 through December 2023), both payment obligations and payment counting were suspended. You did not have to pay, and you did not lose progress toward forgiveness. A payment count pause without a payment pause means you still owe the monthly payment, but making it does not move you closer to forgiveness.

If you are in deferment or forbearance, you may not be required to make payments at all, depending on your loan type and the reason for the deferment or forbearance. These are different from a payment count pause and have their own rules about whether payments count toward forgiveness.

Who is affected by a payment count pause

A payment count pause affects borrowers on income-driven repayment plans (Revised Pay As You Earn, Pay As You Earn, Income-Based Repayment, and Income-Contingent Repayment) and borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If you are on the Standard 10-year repayment plan and not pursuing PSLF, a payment count pause does not affect you because you are not counting toward forgiveness.

Federal student loan borrowers are most likely to encounter a payment count pause during periods when the federal government suspends loan payments due to economic hardship or national emergency. Private student loan borrowers are not affected by federal payment count pauses because their loans are not governed by federal rules.

If you are unsure whether a payment count pause applies to your loans, contact your loan servicer. You can find your servicer's name and contact information on your loan statement or by logging into studentaid.gov.

Checking your payment count and pause status

Your loan servicer tracks how many payments you have made toward forgiveness. You can see this number by logging into your servicer's website or by calling the servicer directly. The servicer's phone number is on your loan statement.

On your servicer's website, look for a section labeled "Loan Details," "Payment History," or "Forgiveness Progress." This section should show your current payment count and whether any pause is in effect. If you are pursuing PSLF, you may also see a separate tracker for PSLF-specific payment counts.

If you do not see clear information about your payment count or pause status, ask your servicer directly. Request a written statement showing your current payment count, the date the count began, and whether any pause is currently in effect. Keep this statement for your records.

What happens when a payment count pause ends

When a payment count pause ends, your payment count resumes as normal. Payments you make after the pause ends will count toward forgiveness again. However, payments you made during the pause period do not retroactively count — they are straightforward not counted at all.

For example, if you made 12 payments during a payment count pause, those 12 payments do not suddenly count once the pause ends. Your count picks up where it left off before the pause began. This means a payment count pause extends the total time it takes to reach forgiveness, but it does not erase your progress.

When a pause ends, your loan servicer should send you a notice explaining that payment counting has resumed. If you do not receive this notice within a few weeks of the pause ending, contact your servicer to confirm the pause has ended and your count is active again.

Planning for forgiveness when a pause has affected your timeline

If a payment count pause has delayed your path to forgiveness, you can calculate how much longer you will need to pay. Count the number of payments you made during the pause period, then add that number to your original forgiveness timeline. For example, if you needed 120 payments for PSLF and made 24 payments during a pause, you now need 144 total payments instead of 120.

Some borrowers choose to make extra payments during or after a pause to make up for the lost counting time. Your loan servicer can tell you whether extra payments will count toward forgiveness and whether there are any penalties for paying ahead. On most federal student loans, there are no penalties for early payment.

If you are pursuing PSLF and a pause has significantly delayed your forgiveness date, review your employment situation. PSLF requires you to work for a may have access to employer — if your employment status has changed, you may need to restart your payment count. Your servicer or the PSLF Help Tool (available at studentaid.gov) can help you verify whether your employer still counts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still have to make payments during a payment count pause?

Yes, unless you are in deferment or forbearance. A payment count pause means your payments do not count toward forgiveness, but you are still required to pay your monthly amount. If you cannot afford to pay, contact your servicer about deferment or forbearance options.

Will payments I made during a pause count if I make extra payments later?

No. Payments made during a pause do not count toward forgiveness, and making extra payments later does not retroactively count the paused payments. Extra payments do count toward your forgiveness total going forward, but they do not recover the time lost during the pause.

How do I know if a payment count pause is currently in effect?

Log into your loan servicer's website and look for payment count or forgiveness progress information. You can also call your servicer directly — the number is on your loan statement. Your servicer should be able to tell you whether a pause is active and when it is expected to end.

Does a payment count pause affect my interest accrual?

A payment count pause does not automatically stop interest from accruing. Interest accrual depends on your loan type and whether a separate payment pause is in effect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, both payment obligations and interest accrual were suspended, but a payment count pause alone does not stop interest.

Can I request that my paused payments be counted retroactively?

No. Payments made during an official payment count pause do not count toward forgiveness, and servicers cannot retroactively explore them once the pause ends. If you believe your servicer made an error in tracking your payment count, contact the servicer and request a detailed payment history to verify the count is correct.