US Set to Garnish Wages for Student Debt Collection in 2026

The Trump administration will begin to seize student debt repayments from the wages of borrowers in default early next year, the US Education Department said Tuesday, a long-promised move that threatens to hit some of the most economically-vulnerable households in the country.

The first notices of wage garnishment will be sent the week of Jan. 7 to 1,000 borrowers who haven’t made a payment in over a year. The number of borrowers targeted will increase each month, according to a department spokesperson who spoke on the condition of anonymity.