Missed a Student Loan Payment? Here's What to Do

What this means

When you miss a federal student loan payment, your loan becomes delinquent (past due). Delinquency means you owe a payment that hasn't been made by the due date. Federal law The longer the delinquency lasts, the more serious the consequences may become — including potential default (when a loan is severely past due, typically 270 days or more for federal loans).

The consequences of a missed payment follow a specific timeline. During the first 30 days, your servicer may charge a late fee but typically won't report the delinquency to credit bureaus. After 90 days, your servicer is required to report the delinquency to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion), which can lower your credit score significantly. Federal law After 270 days of non-payment, your loan enters default, which triggers the most severe consequences including wage garnishment and tax refund offset.

The missed payment timeline

• Day 1: Payment due date passes. Loan is now delinquent. Late fees may apply.
• Day 15-30: Servicer sends late payment notice. No credit bureau reporting yet for most servicers.
• Day 90: Servicer reports delinquency to credit bureaus. Federal law Credit score impact begins.
• Day 270: Loan enters default. Federal law Entire balance becomes due immediately. Wage garnishment, tax refund offset, and collection fees may begin.
• Day 270+: Default is reported to credit bureaus. Loan transferred to collections. Professional and government license holds possible in some states. State law

Decision tree: what's your situation?

Key terms explained

• Delinquency: Your loan is past due. This starts the day after you miss a payment. Federal law
• Default: Your loan is severely past due (typically 270+ days for federal loans). This triggers serious consequences including garnishment and offset. Federal law
• Deferment: A temporary pause on payments for qualifying reasons (returning to school, economic hardship, military service). Interest does NOT accrue on subsidized loans during deferment. Federal law
• Forbearance: Another type of temporary payment pause. Interest continues to accrue during forbearance on all loan types.
• Garnishment: When up to 15% of your disposable pay is automatically deducted from your paycheck to repay a defaulted loan. Federal law
• Tax refund offset: When the government intercepts your federal tax refund to apply toward a defaulted student loan. Federal law
• IDR (Income-Driven Repayment): Plans that set your payment based on your income and family size. Options include IBR, ICR, and PAYE.

Options if you can't afford your payment

If your current payment is too high for your income, you have several options before a missed payment becomes a long-term problem:

1. Switch to an income-driven plan: Your payment could be as low as $0 if your income is below 150% of the poverty line. Apply through your servicer or StudentAid.gov.
2. Request forbearance: A temporary pause (up to 12 months at a time). Interest accrues but no payment is required.
3. Request deferment: If you qualify (economic hardship, unemployment, return to school), payments pause and subsidized loan interest doesn't accrue.
4. Make a partial payment: Even paying something shows good faith and may prevent or delay credit reporting.

If you choose...

If you choose to contact your servicer now:

• You may be able to switch to a lower payment plan before credit damage occurs
• You can request forbearance to pause payments temporarily
• You prevent the situation from escalating toward default
• You can get a clear picture of exactly what you owe and when

If you choose to ignore it:

• After 90 days, the delinquency is reported to credit bureaus
• After 270 days, the loan defaults and the entire balance becomes due
• Default can lead to wage garnishment (up to 15% of disposable pay)
• Your federal tax refund can be intercepted without further notice

Here's what you can do today

1. Call your loan servicer. If you don't know who they are, use the Find Your Servicer guide.
2. Ask about income-driven repayment plans that lower your payment based on income.
3. If you can't pay anything right now, request forbearance to pause payments temporarily.
4. If you're in default (270+ days), review the default recovery options.
5. Once you have a plan, use Balance On Hand to project your cash flow with the new payment amount.

Before making a financial decision, understand your cash flow.

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