So I’ve had this private student loan FOREVER and received this letter from Navient. I’m not sure if this is something I should take without asking questions lol or if I could get a better offer from them? I don’t want to call them yet and talk to them cause I know they won’t actually advise me on what’s best for me so I’m wondering if anyone else has received this letter and what the outcome was?
This is what the letter reads:
What's changing:
Starting January 1, 2026, discharged student loan debt will once again be treated as taxable income at the federal level.
That means you could owe thousands in federal taxes on any amount forgiven beginning next year.
Example:
• Loan Forgiveness: $29,000
• Tax Rate: 22%
• Forgiven before Jan 1, 2026 = Federal tax owed: $0
• Forgiven on or after Jan 1, 2026 = Federal tax owed: $6,380
Your Opportunity:
Navient is willing to settle your defaulted private student loans for 50% of your current balance on the loans listed below.
To leverage the tax benefit, the settlement must be completed by December 31, 2025.
If You Accept:
• We'll confirm your payment plan
• Once paid and the funds cleared, your loans will be marked "paid in full for less than the full balance" on your credit report.
No further collection efforts, including phone calls, letters or emails.
Late or missed payments previously reported prior to your settlement may remain on your credit report.
Act Within 15 Days.
To accept this offer, contact us within 15 days. After that, the offer expires and may not be renewed or extended.
Navient wanting to settle for 50% of loan?
byu/groovybubbles89 inStudentLoans
Posted by groovybubbles89
4 Comments
You’re not going to get a better offer now, because they are leveraging the fact that you can now get a tax benefit that will no longer be available after next week. As a result, the urgency to act now is all on you.
You might or might not get a better offer in 2026, but you’ll permanently lose the tax benefit. If this can work for you, you should grab it while you can, realizing there will also be a negative mark on your credit report that will hurt you for a few years (“paid in full for less than the full balance”).
That’s an amazing offer
This would probably only be offered for non-government loans right?
How long ago did you default? Are you potentially beyond the statute of limitations for the debt?
Like, this is a great resource to cover your rights and responsibilities when dealing with debt collections https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/collections
But also, yeah after December 31, 2025 you will get a 1099-C form and be taxed on the debt settlement. They’re doing that to try and incentivize you to settle sooner without them suing you and without you trying to wait out the SOL