$180 Billion in Student Loans Are Now in Default, New Federal Data Shows

Hundreds of thousands of college students are enrolled in degree and certificate programs that, under new federal law, may soon be cut off from federal student loans. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, requires colleges to prove their programs actually improve graduates’ earning power, and those that don't risk losing access to federal student loan programs.The framework, informally called “Do No Harm,” sets a new standard: if a program’s graduates earn less than comparable workers who never attended college at all, the program can no longer receive federal loan funding.The Department of Education has already released preliminary data on nearly 50,000 programs, and the results reveal a clear pattern of which fields are at risk — including some where a college credential is legally required to work in the profession at all.Remember: It's not just about the degree (like B.S. Business). It's about the program and school (such as University of Vermont, Bachelor's of Science in Plant Sciences). It's individual programs and degrees granted by individual colleges that are at risk.

Federal Student Aid released its latest quarterly data update, and the numbers paint a stark picture: 7.7 million borrowers with $180 billion in outstanding federal student loans are now in default as of December 2025.The quarter ending in December marked the first time many borrower accounts could the threshold for default following the end of the pandemic-era payment pause and the subsequent on-ramp protection period.While the number is large, FSA noted that it mirrors the default count from December 2019, when 7.7 million recipients with approximately $168 billion in federal student loans were in default. The $12 billion increase in default balances reflects the growth in the overall portfolio during the intervening years.However, the Department of Education has still continued to pause some collections efforts in light of all the major student loan changes happening.

The tax deadline is almost here! Here are some last minute tax reminders if you're still working on filing your taxes.Although it might not be the most enjoyable financial task, it's a necessary obligation that we each undertake every year. And if you use great tax software, filing taxes doesn’t take as much time as you may dread.But tax filing time isn’t only about filing returns. There are things you can do today to help you save money on your tax bill, and help you save time on filing.Here are the best last-minute tax tips to consider this season.

The Department of Education’s income-driven repayment application backlog has dropped to its lowest point on record, according to a new court filing submitted March 16 (PDF File).But that progress is overshadowed by a continued delays on IDR loan forgiveness and a growing queue of public servants waiting for PSLF buyback decisions.The data comes from the latest status report filed in American Federation of Teachers v. U.S. Department of Education, a federal lawsuit spearheaded by the teacher's union that requires the Department to provide monthly updates on its loan servicing operations.

Tax refunds are running more than 10% larger this filing season, the IRS reported, with the average individual refund reaching $3,742. That's up from $3,382 at roughly the same point in 2025.The increase is being driven in part by new deductions signed into law by President Donald Trump that are appearing on returns for the first time.The IRS released its cumulative filing season statistics through Feb. 27, 2026, comparing them to the same period in 2025. The data covers roughly 51.5 million individual returns received out of approximately 164 million expected before the April 15 deadline.

The federal government quietly stopped independently checking whether student loan servicers are keeping accurate borrower records (and stopped monitoring the quality of calls with borrowers) in February 2025. More than a year later, it still has not resumed those reviews, according to a new report released by the Government Accountability Office.The findings come at a precarious moment for the nearly 43 million Americans with federal student loans. Major repayment plan changes are underway, millions of borrowers are in or approaching default, and the very oversight designed to catch servicer errors has gone dark.For an administration that is allegedly focused on reducing waste and fraud, it's concerning that government contractors overseeing a trillion dollar portfolio of loans impacting 43 million Americans are not being closely monitored or held accountable.

The SAVE student loan repayment plan is dead — and a federal appeals court just made that official.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on March 9, 2026 (PDF File) that a lower court wrongly dismissed the Republican states’ lawsuit against the plan, directing the district court to enter a December 2025 settlement agreement that permanently bans the Biden-era income-driven repayment program. The request to force the joint settlement was one of the alternatives presented in the GOP appeal to the 8th Circuit Court.Here's what borrowers need to know.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley accused the U.S. Department of Education of obstructing congressional oversight of federal student loan servicers. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon (PDF File), the senators wrote that the department “appears to have progressed to active obstruction” of lawmakers’ efforts to obtain servicer performance data.The dispute centers on basic service metrics: how long borrowers wait on hold, how often calls are dropped, how quickly written inquiries are answered, and how satisfied borrowers report being.For families navigating student loan repayment (especially with all the changes), those details can mean the difference between staying current and slipping into delinquency.With more than 42 million Americans holding federal student loans totaling over $1.81 trillion, even slight declines in servicing quality can ripple across household budgets.

A new federal court filing (PDF File) shows that borrowers seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) credit through the buyback process could face waits approaching three years under current processing speeds.The latest status report from the U.S. Department of Education reveals that 86,520 PSLF Buyback applications were still pending as of January 31, 2026. During January, only 2,430 buyback applications were decided.At that pace (and assuming no new applications were submitted) clearing the existing backlog alone would take roughly 35 months. In reality, new requests continue to arrive each month and processing times have varied month-to-month - meaning the wait time could be longer.For public service workers who have already reached or are near 120 qualifying payments, the numbers suggest a long period of uncertainty.

A new report from the Pew Research Center offers one of the most detailed looks at how educational attainment differs across religious groups in America.The findings come from Pew’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study, a survey of 36,908 U.S. adults. Because of its large sample size, researchers were able to analyze not only broad religious categories, but also specific denominations within Protestantism and other traditions.The headline finding: Hindus and Jews stand apart by a wide margin.