Nevada Student Loan Forgiveness Programs
Nevada offers two student loan repayment assistance programs, both built for health care workers. The Treasurer's HEAL program, launched in 2025, matters most because it covers more than 40 professions in rural and urban underserved areas. Nevada has no repayment program for teachers or lawyers, so they and everyone else should start with federal forgiveness programs.
Nevada Programs At A Glance
| Program | Who Qualifies | Maximum Award | Service Required | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada Health Equity And Loan Assistance (HEAL) Program | Licensed providers in 40+ health professions and some public health officers | $15,000 to $120,000 depending on profession, paid over 5 years | 5 years of full-time clinical practice in an underserved community | Annual Cycle |
| Pennington Rural Health Services Loan Repayment Program | Physicians, dentists, NPs, PAs, RNs, and imaging professionals in rural Nevada | $40,000/year for doctors and dentists ($120,000 total); $20,000 to $75,000 for other professions | 2 or 3 years, depending on profession | Rolling |
Programs That Help Repay Loans You Already Have
Nevada borrowers carry roughly $33,700 in federal student debt on average, according to our Nevada student loans and financial aid breakdown. Both Nevada programs send money straight toward that debt once you're working in a qualifying health care job. Many of the same clinics and hospitals are nonprofits, so compare each award with Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Nevada Health Equity And Loan Assistance (HEAL) Program
HEAL pays $15,000 to $120,000 toward the student loans of licensed health care providers who commit to at least five years of full-time clinical practice in rural or urban underserved communities (Nevada State Treasurer). Physicians, dentists, podiatric physicians, and pharmacists sit in the top tier at $24,000 a year, while psychologists receive up to $100,000 and PAs, physical therapists, and speech-language pathologists up to $90,000 (HEAL repayment schedule). Nurses and other clinicians should compare it with the federal awards in our nursing and health care forgiveness roundup.
The Legislature created HEAL through Assembly Bill 45 in 2023, and the Treasurer launched it in 2025 (HEAL flyer). At least 15% of each year's repayment money goes to providers in rural counties, so doctors outside Las Vegas and Reno should also review our breakdown of student loan forgiveness for doctors.
| Administered by | Nevada State Treasurer's Office |
| Who qualifies | Providers actively licensed, certified, or registered in good standing in Nevada in one of the listed professions, plus chief medical officers and county and district health officers |
| Award | $15,000 to $120,000 depending on provider type, paid in five equal annual installments directly to your loan servicer |
| Eligible communities | Rural counties other than Washoe and Clark, low-income census tracts, tribal communities, and other underserved areas in the Treasurer's community list |
| Commitment | At least five years of full-time clinical practice in an eligible Nevada community |
| Status | Applications open for 30 days each year, with scoring criteria posted 30 days before the window opens; the 2026 window has closed |
| Official source | Nevada HEAL |
Pennington Rural Health Services Loan Repayment Program
The Pennington program repays educational loans for practitioners who work full time and live in an assigned rural community at least 60 miles from Reno (Nevada Governor's Office of Science, Innovation and Technology). Physicians and dentists receive $40,000 a year for three years, which puts it alongside the federal options in our student loan forgiveness for doctors breakdown.
| Administered by | Nevada Governor's Office of Science, Innovation and Technology (OSIT) |
| Who qualifies | MDs, DOs, and dentists; nurse practitioners and PAs; bachelor's-prepared nurses and RNs; and imaging professionals (CMI and DMS) |
| Award | $40,000 a year for three years ($120,000) for doctors and dentists; $25,000 a year for NPs (two years, $50,000) and PAs (three years, $75,000); $20,000 a year for two years for BSNs and imaging professionals ($40,000); $10,000 a year for two years for RNs ($20,000) |
| Eligible communities | Rural locations at least 60 miles from Reno in Washoe, Lyon, Churchill, Pershing, Lander, Eureka, Elko, White Pine, Mineral, Esmeralda, and Humboldt counties, plus Tonopah |
| Commitment | Full-time clinical practice while living in the assigned community, for two or three years depending on profession |
| Status | OSIT accepts applications without a published deadline; applicants must register as a state vendor |
| Official source | OSIT Loan Repayment Program |
Federal Forgiveness Options For Nevada Borrowers
Federal programs reach far more Nevada borrowers than the two state programs, and each one sets its own rules for stacking with a state award. Our full list of forgiveness programs covers every federal option.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Borrowers who make 120 qualifying payments while working full time for a government agency or qualifying nonprofit get their remaining Direct Loan balance forgiven tax-free (StudentAid.gov). Nevada public school teachers, state and county employees, and staff at Nevada System of Higher Education schools all work for qualifying employers, and our PSLF breakdown covers the 2026 employer rule litigation.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness. Teachers with five consecutive years at a low-income school can receive up to $17,500 if they teach secondary math, science, or special education, or up to $5,000 in other subjects (StudentAid.gov). The same years can't count toward both Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF, which our teacher forgiveness breakdown walks through.
Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) and IBR. RAP launched July 1, 2026, and forgives any remaining balance after 360 qualifying payments (How RAP Works). Borrowers deciding between plans can run the numbers in our RAP vs. IBR comparison.
Health care programs. The National Health Service Corps pays full-time primary care providers up to $75,000 for a two-year commitment in its 2026 cycle, plus a $5,000 Spanish-language bonus (HRSA). Nurse Corps pays 60% of qualifying nursing debt for two years of service and another 25% for a third year (HRSA), and the STAR program pays up to $250,000 for six years in substance use disorder treatment (HRSA). Nevada's Primary Care Office says the NHSC cycle usually opens January through March and Nurse Corps January through February (Nevada DPBH), and our nursing and health care forgiveness roundup covers eligibility for each.
Veterinarians. Neither Nevada program covers veterinarians, but the USDA Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program pays up to $25,000 a year for service in designated shortage areas (USDA NIFA). Vets carrying private loans should also check our list of private student loan forgiveness options.
Is Student Loan Forgiveness Taxed In Nevada?
Nevada has no personal income tax, so forgiven student loans aren't taxed at the state level (The College Investor). Nevada has no state return to file, so PSLF, income-driven plan forgiveness, and HEAL or Pennington payments add nothing to a state tax bill.
Federal tax still applies, and forgiveness under income-driven plans became federally taxable again on January 1, 2026, when the American Rescue Plan exclusion expired (Taxes And Student Loan Forgiveness). Borrowers expecting IBR or RAP forgiveness can estimate the federal bill with our student loan tax bomb calculator.
Ask the Treasurer's Office or OSIT whether your award will be reported to the IRS as income, and read our explainer on the 1099-C and student loan forgiveness before filing.
If Your Job Isn't Covered
Borrowers outside health care won't find a Nevada loan repayment program, but three options remain. Employers can pay up to $5,250 a year toward your student loans tax-free, and our list of companies that offer student loan repayment assistance shows who offers it.
Borrowers with private loans or high-rate federal loans they don't plan to have forgiven can lower their rate through student loan refinancing. Refinancing federal loans into a private loan ends eligibility for PSLF, RAP, and IBR, so don't refinance a balance you expect to have forgiven.
Families with leftover 529 money can put up to $10,000 per beneficiary toward student loans, which our 529 plan for student loan repayment explainer covers. Nevada savers should also review the state's plans, including the Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan, in our Nevada 529 plan review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nevada Have A Student Loan Forgiveness Program?
Nevada offers student loan repayment assistance programs rather than broad loan forgiveness. It runs two loan repayment programs for health care providers: HEAL statewide and Pennington in rural northern Nevada. Borrowers outside health care rely on federal programs like PSLF and income-driven plan forgiveness.
What Is The Nevada HEAL Program?
HEAL is a state-funded program run by the Nevada Treasurer that pays up to $120,000 toward a provider's student loans for five years of practice in an underserved community (Nevada State Treasurer). It opens for 30 days a year, so providers should also line up federal options from our nursing and health care forgiveness roundup.
Does Nevada Have Student Loan Forgiveness For Teachers?
Nevada has no loan repayment program for teachers. The Teach Nevada Scholarship pays tuition up front, and recipients awarded before July 1, 2025 can collect the last 25% of their award after five consecutive years of full-time teaching (Nevada Department of Education). Teachers with existing loans should look at the federal options in our teacher forgiveness breakdown.
Can Nurses Get Help Repaying Student Loans In Nevada?
Registered nurses and bachelor's-prepared nurses in rural northern Nevada can receive $20,000 or $40,000 through the Pennington program for two years of service (Nevada OSIT). Nurse practitioners can receive up to $50,000 there, and federal Nurse Corps options appear in our nursing forgiveness roundup.
Is Student Loan Forgiveness Taxable In Nevada?
Nevada has no personal income tax, so no student loan forgiveness is taxed by the state (The College Investor). Income-driven plan forgiveness can still trigger a federal bill, and our tax bomb calculator estimates it.
Related Nevada Resources
How We Sourced This Data
Program details on this page come from the administering agencies: the Nevada State Treasurer's Office (HEAL program pages, repayment schedule, and January 2026 flyer, under Assembly Bill 45 of 2023 and NRS 226), the Nevada Governor's Office of Science, Innovation and Technology, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health Primary Care Office, and the Nevada Department of Education. Federal program details come from StudentAid.gov, HRSA, and USDA NIFA. Read more about how we fact-check and update content.
Page refreshed annually in August, after Nevada's legislative session and agency rule approvals, and reviewed in January for tax season. Last full refresh: September 23, 2026.
Editor: Clint Proctor Reviewed by: Claire Tak