A Guide for Incoming & New Residents

Early in Your Residency Journey?
‍Whether you’re about to begin or you’re already in your first year, this is the ideal time to set your student loans up the right way. Making the right moves now can help you qualify for forgiveness, lock in low payments, and avoid the common mistakes that cost new doctors time and money. This guide will walk you through exactly what to do in your first months of training. And if you’d like personalized help, we offer one-on-one sessions to make sure everything is in place from the start.

Choose Your Starting Point
‍Not all residents are in the same place when it comes to student loans. If you’re just beginning residency, select Incoming Residents to see exactly how to start off on the right foot. If you’re already a PGY-1, choose that option to make sure you’re not missing critical steps.

Incoming Residents

PGY-1

Step 1 File a Tax Return for your Final Year of Medical School

If you haven’t already, file a federal tax return for the last full calendar year you were in medical school. Even if you had very little income, filing a return is important.

Why this matters:
Your tax return will be used to calculate your student loan payments when you apply for income-driven repayment. Using a low-income year (like your final year of med school) can lock in a $0 or low monthly payment for up to 12 months. If you didn’t file, you’ll be asked for current income documentation (like pay stubs), which will reflect your resident salary and result in much higher payments.

Learn More - IRS - File Even If You Don't need To

Step 2 Consolidate Your Loans to Skip the Grace Period

After medical school graduation, most federal loans enter a six-month grace period before repayment begins. But grace periods don’t count toward forgiveness programs like PSLF.

By consolidating your loans shortly after graduation: You can skip the grace period. You become eligible to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan immediately. You can begin tracking qualifying payments sooner if your residency qualifies for PSLF.

Learn More - Consolidation

Step 3 Apply for Income-Driven Repayment (IDR)

With some IDR plans being phased out, most new borrowers will now use the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan or eventually transition into the new RAP plan. These plans base your monthly payment on your income and family size—and if you’re working in a nonprofit or public service setting, you may qualify for loan forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments.

To apply: Visit StudentAid.gov Complete the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) application. Upload your tax return (or recent pay stubs if you haven’t filed yet)

Important: If you’re married and want to exclude your spouse’s income, you must file your taxes separately.
This process can be confusing, especially during the chaos of starting residency. Don’t hesitate to schedule a time with us—we’ll walk you through it step-by-step and make sure it’s done right.

Learn More - IDR Plans

Step 4 Submit Your First PSLF Form

If your residency is at a nonprofit hospital, your employment likely qualifies for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Submitting the PSLF Employer Certification Form is how you start tracking eligible payments.
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To submit your form: Use the PSLF Help Tool at StudentAid.gov to complete your portion. Ask your hospital’s HR or payroll office to complete their section. Submit the form through the site or by mail.
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You can view your hospital’s specific PSLF instructions, including where to send your form and who to contact, by visiting the dedicated hospital resource page we’ve created. (Use the search tool above to see if your hospital is in our database)

Learn More - Access The PSLF Help Tool

Step 5 Set a Reminder to Recertify Annually

Each year, you’ll need to recertify your income to stay in your IDR plan and continue earning PSLF credit. Missing this deadline can be costly—you’ll be removed from your IDR plan, placed into the standard repayment plan (often with a bill in the thousands), and any unpaid interest will capitalize and be added to your principal balance. In short, don’t let this one slip by.

We help our clients avoid this by scheduling recertification check-ins a year in advance.

Looking for free one-on-one guidance? We offer two complimentary meetings to help you get started on the right path. Click “Schedule Meeting” above to book a time.

Step 1: Make Sure You're Enrolled in the Right Repayment Plan

Many borrowers are currently in SAVE forbearance or have been placed into Standard Repayment with very high payments. To stay eligible for forgiveness and keep payments manageable, it often makes sense to consider an income-driven plan.

Next steps to explore:
‍Log in to StudentAid.gov and review which plan you’re in.
If it’s not IBR, PAYE, or ICR, you may want to submit a new IDR application.
When asked for income, you can choose to upload your last tax return, provide recent documents (like pay stubs or an employer letter), or allow the IRS tool to share your information automatically.

If you’d like guidance on which plan may be the best fit for your situation, schedule a session and we’ll help you sort through the options.

Learn More - Repayment Plan Info From StudentAid.gov

Step 2: Know When You Last Recertified—and Plan Ahead

Many residents are showing recertification dates pushed into 2026 or beyond—but that may not hold. Once the government finalizes the shift away from SAVE, you could be asked to recertify sooner. If your income has grown, that may mean higher monthly payments.

What to do:
Check your recertification date in your loan dashboard. As that date approaches, think carefully about how your income is documented. Pay stubs sometimes include moonlighting or extra shifts that may not continue, while an employer letter or prior-year tax return can paint a clearer picture of your earned or guaranteed income.

The key is understanding not only the rules of these programs, but also how loan servicers review and process your information. With the RAP plan expected in 2026, major changes are coming—and being prepared can save tens of thousands of dollars.

Use StudentAid.gov to find important info on your loans

Step 3: Make Sure You're Getting Credit Toward PSLF (If Eligible)

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) can erase your remaining balance after 120 qualifying months—but only if your loans, repayment plan, and employer all line up. Many residents assume they’re automatically earning credit, but that’s not always the case.

What to do:
1. Submit a PSLF Employment Certification Form through StudentAid.gov to confirm your employer qualifies.
2. Check that your repayment plan is eligible: IBR, PAYE, ICR, and in some cases Standard Repayment do qualify. SAVE forbearance months do not count toward PSLF.
3. Make sure your loans are Direct Loans. If you have older FFEL or Perkins Loans, you may need to consolidate.
4. Use the search bar above to look up your hospital for specific directions on how to collect PSLF credits while employed there.

The key is knowing how payments are tracked and how servicers apply PSLF credit. Starting early helps protect your progress and ensures you don’t miss out on qualifying months during residency.

Learn More - PSLF Help Tool Resource Page

Step 4: Understand How Income Documentation Affects Your Payments

Strategy is important. Be sure to use your two free 1-on-1 meetings with us. Click here to schedule

Your monthly payment is tied to how your income is reported, and small choices here can make a big difference. Pay stubs sometimes include extra moonlighting or temporary shifts that don’t reflect your ongoing earnings, while an employer letter or prior-year tax return can give a clearer picture of your earned or guaranteed income.

It’s also important to be mindful of tax filing timing and how it lines up with when you recertify, since both can influence which income year your servicer uses. In some cases, working to adjust your recertification date can also make sense if it helps you lock in a lower income record.

It’s not just about knowing the rules—it’s about understanding how servicers review and process information. With the RAP plan expected in 2026, major shifts are on the horizon. Being thoughtful about documentation, timing, and recertification can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the course of training and beyond.

Learn More - Student Loan Simulator

Step 5: Keep Track of Your Loan History and Employement Certs

Even if you’re in the right plan today, progress toward forgiveness only counts if it’s documented correctly. That means tracking both your loan history and your employment certifications so nothing slips through the cracks.

Make it a habit to download your loan data file (the “My Aid Data” file in your StudentAid.gov account) and keep copies of every PSLF Employment Certification Form you submit. Errors are common, and having your own records makes it much easier to fix issues if a servicer miscounts qualifying months.

This is also where timing matters: making sure your recertification dates, income documentation, and employment forms all line up can keep you on track. With major changes like the RAP plan coming in 2026, having clean, accurate records now ensures you’ll get full credit later.

Learn More - downloading your Federal Student Loan data

A Guide for Incoming & New Residents

If you are employed by a non-profit hospital - you likely qualify for student loan forgiveness.

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