Wisconsin Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

Wisconsin offers two student loan repayment assistance programs for loans you already have, both for health care providers. The Health Professions Loan Assistance Program is the one to watch, paying up to $50,000 over three years, with its next window opening in spring 2027, while future teachers and nurses can borrow through state loans forgiven through work in Wisconsin. Everyone else should start with federal forgiveness programs, where the bigger dollars are.

Wisconsin Health Professions Loan Assistance Program (HPLAP)

The Wisconsin Office of Rural Health (WORH) pays up to $50,000 to primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and dentists, and up to $25,000 to NPs, PAs, CNMs, dental hygienists, and dental therapists, for three years of service in an eligible underserved rural or urban community (WORH). The Wisconsin Department of Health Services lists HPLAP as the state's loan repayment program for health professionals (Wisconsin DHS). Physicians comparing offers should also read our breakdown of student loan forgiveness for doctors.

Rural Provider Loan Assistance Program

WORH's second program pays up to $50,000 in state loan assistance to primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and dentists who practice in rural Wisconsin, defined as areas with fewer than 20,000 people, at least 15 miles from a larger city, and outside urbanized areas (WORH). Dentists who don't practice in a rural area can compare the federal options in our list of student loan forgiveness programs.

Teacher Loan Program

HEAB lends $250 to $10,000 a year, up to $30,000 total, to Wisconsin-resident sophomores, juniors, and seniors studying for teacher-shortage fields, and forgives 25% a year for full-time teaching in Milwaukee or designated rural counties (Wisconsin HEAB). Once you're teaching, federal programs can cover what's left, which our teacher forgiveness breakdown explains.

Minority Teacher Loan

HEAB lends minority undergraduates $250 to $10,000 a year, up to $30,000 total, and forgives 25% a year for full-time teaching in a Wisconsin public, private, or tribal school where at least 40% of students are minorities (Wisconsin HEAB). Teachers at public and tribal schools can later add PSLF on their federal loans.

Teacher Of The Visually Impaired Loan

Students preparing to teach visually impaired children, or to work as orientation and mobility instructors, can borrow $250 to $10,000 a year, up to $40,000 total (Wisconsin HEAB). HEAB forgives 25% for each of the first two years of qualifying Wisconsin employment and 50% for the third. Special education teachers may also qualify for up to $17,500 in federal forgiveness, covered in our teacher forgiveness breakdown.

Nursing Student Loan

Nursing students can borrow $250 to $3,000 a year, up to $15,000 total, and HEAB forgives 25% a year for two years of work as a licensed nurse or nurse educator in Wisconsin (Wisconsin HEAB). That caps forgiveness at half the loan, so nurses should also look at federal Nurse Corps in our nursing forgiveness roundup.

Wisconsin follows the federal tax code as of a specific date, and it excludes total and permanent disability discharges and appears to exclude PSLF, which sits in the same section of federal law (The College Investor). Wisconsin did not adopt the American Rescue Plan exclusion, so debt forgiven between December 20, 2020, and January 1, 2026, under that provision, including income-driven plan forgiveness, counted as Wisconsin income.

Forgiveness under income-driven plans also became federally taxable on January 1, 2026, when the federal exclusion expired, so IBR and RAP forgiveness now faces both federal and Wisconsin tax (Taxes And Student Loan Forgiveness). Borrowers expecting that forgiveness can estimate the bill with our student loan tax bomb calculator.

WORH says HPLAP and Rural Provider awards are exempt from federal and state income tax (WORH). Ask HEAB how forgiven teacher and nursing loans will be reported, and read our explainer on the 1099-C and student loan forgiveness before filing.

Does Wisconsin Have A Student Loan Forgiveness Program?

Wisconsin offers student loan repayment assistance programs rather than broad loan forgiveness. It runs two loan assistance programs for health care providers and four forgivable loan programs for future teachers and nurses. Borrowers outside those fields rely on federal programs like PSLF and income-driven plan forgiveness.

When Does HPLAP Open Again?

WORH says the HPLAP and Rural Provider application periods have closed and are expected to reopen in spring 2027, with HPLAP results expected in December 2027 (WORH). Providers who can't wait can apply for NHSC, covered in our breakdown of student loan forgiveness for doctors.

Can Wisconsin Teachers Get Help With Student Loans?

Wisconsin has no repayment program for working teachers, but education majors can borrow up to $30,000 through HEAB's Teacher Loan or Minority Teacher Loan and have 25% forgiven for each year of qualifying teaching (Wisconsin HEAB). Working teachers should look at federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness and PSLF in our teacher forgiveness breakdown.

Is Student Loan Forgiveness Taxable In Wisconsin?

PSLF and disability discharges appear to be excluded, but Wisconsin taxed income-driven plan forgiveness even while it was federally tax-free from 2021 through 2025, and that forgiveness is taxable at both levels in 2026 (The College Investor). Use our tax bomb calculator to estimate what you'd owe.