If you owe money on student loans, relief could be coming your way as up to $20,000 of that debt could soon be forgiven. Additionally, if you made payments on your student loans during the moratorium, you can request a refund from your loan servicer. The Biden administration has extended the pause on repaying student loans until January 2023.

While some borrowers may automatically see their debt forgiven by the Department of Education without taking any additional steps, most will need to apply for forgiveness. We'll explain below. 

Keep reading to find out if you're eligible for the student loan debt forgiveness plan and how to apply. Additionally, watch out for student loan forgiveness scams by spotting these red flags.

First, find out if you're eligible for student loan debt forgiveness

Under President Joe Biden's plan, the Department of Education will cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for individual borrowers who make below $125,000 per year or less than $250,000 for married borrowers or those who are heads of households. 

You may also be eligible for an additional $10,000 in relief if you received federal Pell Grants while enrolled in college.

You may need to fill out an application for student loan debt forgiveness

Whether you need to apply for student loan debt forgiveness depends on if the Department of Education already has your income information -- this group of borrowers mostly includes those who are enrolled in income-driven repayment plans.

If the department does have your income data, it will automatically cancel your eligible debt. You won't need to do anything further.

If the department doesn't have your income details, you must complete a new application from the Biden administration to supply the information the department needs to cancel your debt. 

When will the debt forgiveness application be available?

In an Aug. 26 press briefing, National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti said that the application for student debt forgiveness will go live in early October. He also said that after borrowers complete their applications, "They can expect relief within four to six weeks." 

"Borrowers are advised to apply by roughly Nov. 15, in order to receive relief before the payment pause expires on Dec. 31," Ramamurti said

You can choose to be notified when the application becomes available by going to the Department of Education subscription page and signing up to receive "Federal Student Loan Borrower Updates," the first checkbox in a long list of education topics.

We'll update this story with more details when the application is available.

For more money details, here's what to do if you can't pay your credit card bills on time. Also, here's what could happen to your credit score if your student loans are forgiven.