Yes, you can usually defer a loan payment, but whether you qualify and what it costs depend heavily on the loan type. Federal student loans offer the most structured deferment programs, with interest sometimes covered by the government. Mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the FHA have formal deferral options that move missed payments to the end of the loan. Auto lenders and private student loan companies may grant a short extension, but they aren’t required to, and interest keeps accruing. The real question isn’t whether a pause is available; it’s what your balance and your credit will look like when payments resume.
Deferment and Forbearance Are Not the Same
These terms get used interchangeably, and the difference matters for your wallet. During deferment, payments are paused, and on certain federal student loans the government covers the interest so your balance stays flat. During forbearance, payments are also paused, but interest accrues on every loan type without exception.1Federal Student Aid. Get Temporary Relief: Deferment and Forbearance
For mortgages, the difference shows up in what happens after the pause. Forbearance requires you to catch up on the missed payments, sometimes in a lump sum or through a repayment plan. A payment deferral moves those missed payments to the end of the loan term so you don’t have to repay them all at once. If your servicer offers you forbearance when deferral might be available, ask about both before agreeing to anything.
Who Qualifies for Federal Student Loan Deferment
Federal student loans have the broadest and most borrower-friendly deferment options. You can qualify under more than one category over the life of your loan.
Economic Hardship
You qualify for an economic hardship deferment if you receive public assistance like Supplemental Security Income or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or if your monthly income doesn’t exceed 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size. For a single person in 2026, that threshold is $23,940 per year, or about $1,995 per month.2Federal Student Aid. Economic Hardship Deferment Information3HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines
Economic hardship deferments are granted in 12-month increments, and you must recertify each year. If you filed a federal tax return within the eight months before your renewal request, you’ll need to submit a copy with the recertification.4FSA Partner Connect. Chapter 5 Forbearance and Deferment
Unemployment
If you’re working fewer than 30 hours per week and actively seeking full-time work, you can request an unemployment deferment for up to 36 months total. You’ll typically need a written layoff notice, a severance agreement, or documentation showing you’re registered with a state employment agency. This is a separate category from economic hardship, even though the two often overlap.2Federal Student Aid. Economic Hardship Deferment Information
In-School Enrollment
Enrolling at least half-time in an eligible college, career school, or graduate program qualifies you for an in-school deferment. Your school’s registrar or financial aid office usually confirms enrollment, and many institutions report it automatically through the National Student Clearinghouse. Graduate fellowship programs and rehabilitation training programs also qualify.5Federal Student Aid. In School Deferment Eligibility and Process
Military Service
Active-duty service members can defer federal student loan payments during periods of war, military operations, or national emergencies. This applies to reservists called to active duty and National Guard members activated for qualifying service. The deferment continues for 180 days after you complete your service period.6Federal Student Aid. Military Service and Post-Active Duty Student Deferment Request
Separately, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps interest at 6% on all pre-service debts, including student loans, auto loans, credit cards, and mortgages, while you’re on active duty. The rate cap is a separate benefit from deferment and can be combined with it. Contact your servicer directly to request it.7U.S. Department of Justice. 6% Interest Rate Cap for Servicemembers on Pre-service Debts
Cancer Treatment
Borrowers undergoing cancer treatment can defer federal student loan payments for as long as treatment continues, plus six months afterward. There is no fixed time limit, but a physician must certify the treatment, and deferments are initially approved in one-year increments. If treatment extends beyond 12 months, your doctor submits a new certification.8Federal Student Aid Knowledge Center. Deferment for Cancer Treatment for Direct Loan, FFEL, and Perkins Loan Program Borrowers
How Mortgage Payment Deferral Works
If you fall behind on a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the FHA, missed payments get moved to the end of your loan as a lump sum due when you sell, refinance, or pay off the mortgage. You resume your regular monthly payment as if nothing happened.
Fannie Mae allows servicers to defer between two and six months of missed principal and interest payments at a time, up to a lifetime maximum of 12 cumulative months. To be eligible, you need to be at least two months delinquent but no more than six months behind. Disaster-related deferrals don’t count toward the 12-month cap.9Fannie Mae. Payment Deferral
Freddie Mac’s standard payment deferral program allows up to 12 months of deferred principal and interest, including amounts from any previous non-disaster deferrals. Freddie Mac also offers a separate disaster payment deferral with its own terms.10Freddie Mac. Payment Deferral Solutions
FHA-insured mortgages use a mechanism called a partial claim instead of a simple deferral. The servicer advances the funds needed to bring your mortgage current, and HUD secures those funds with a second, zero-interest lien on your home. You don’t make payments on the partial claim until you sell, refinance, or pay off the primary mortgage. The total of all partial claims over the life of the loan can’t exceed 30% of the original unpaid principal balance. To qualify, you must show that you can resume regular payments going forward.11HUD.gov. Updates to Servicing, Loss Mitigation, and Claims
Auto Loans and Private Student Loans
Auto lenders and private student loan companies aren’t required by federal law to offer deferment. Whether you can pause payments depends entirely on your loan contract and the lender’s policies.
For auto loans, most lenders call this a payment extension rather than deferment. When available, extensions typically cover one or two monthly payments and push them to the end of the loan term. Some lenders defer the full payment; others require you to keep paying the interest portion while deferring only principal. Interest continues to accrue either way.12Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Worried About Making Your Auto Loan Payments? Your Lender May Have Options to Help
Private student loans are similarly lender-specific. Some offer hardship forbearance or deferment for limited periods, but the terms are rarely as generous as federal programs. Interest nearly always accrues, and the total deferment period may be shorter. Read your promissory note carefully and call your servicer before you miss a payment.13Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Is Forbearance or Deferment Available for Private Student Loans?
What Deferment Costs You
Interest treatment is where deferment gets expensive if you’re not paying attention. On Direct Subsidized student loans, the federal government covers interest during deferment. Your balance stays the same as when you entered deferment, and you owe nothing extra when payments restart.14Federal Student Aid. Loan Deferment
On unsubsidized federal student loans, private student loans, auto loans, and mortgages, interest keeps accruing while you’re not making payments. For student loans, that unpaid interest typically capitalizes when the deferment ends, meaning it gets added to your principal balance. From that point forward, you’re paying interest on a larger amount. On a $30,000 unsubsidized loan at 6.5% interest, a 12-month deferment adds roughly $1,950 to your balance, and then you pay interest on $31,950 for the remaining life of the loan.15Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Student Loan Deferment?
One way to limit the damage: even if you can’t afford the full payment, consider paying just the interest during deferment. This prevents capitalization and keeps your balance stable. Your servicer can tell you the exact monthly interest amount.
What Deferment Does to Your Credit and Next Loan Application
An approved deferment does not count as a delinquency. Your servicer reports the account with a deferment status code, and that notation by itself doesn’t lower your credit score. The danger is the timing gap: if you stop paying before deferment is officially approved, those missed payments hit your credit report as late. Keep paying until you have written confirmation.16FSA Partner Connect. Table 1-1 Loan Status Codes
Where deferment does hurt is on future loan applications. If you apply for a mortgage while your student loans are deferred, the lender doesn’t just ignore those loans because you’re not paying on them. For FHA-insured mortgages, if the credit report shows a zero monthly payment on a deferred student loan, the lender will use 0.5% of the outstanding balance as your assumed monthly obligation when calculating your debt-to-income ratio. On a $40,000 deferred balance, that adds $200 to your calculated monthly debts, which can push you over the qualifying threshold.17HUD.gov. Mortgagee Letter 2021-13
Conventional loan guidelines use 1% of the balance in the same scenario, an even larger assumed payment. If you’re planning to buy a home, keeping student loans in active repayment, even on an income-driven plan with a low monthly payment, often produces a better debt-to-income ratio than deferment does.
How to Apply
For federal student loans, your servicer provides specific request forms through their online portal, such as the Economic Hardship Deferment Request and the Unemployment Deferment Request. You’ll need your full legal name, Social Security number, loan account numbers, and the start date of the qualifying hardship or enrollment. For income-based eligibility, you’ll report your estimated monthly gross income from all sources.
Supporting documents depend on the type of deferment. Income-based requests need recent tax returns or pay stubs. Unemployment deferments require a layoff notice or proof you’re registered with an employment agency. In-school deferments need enrollment verification from your registrar. Military deferments require documentation of your active-duty orders and service dates.
Submit everything through your servicer’s upload tool, secure message center, or by certified mail. During the review period, keep making payments. If you stop paying before the deferment is officially approved and the request gets denied, those missed payments show up as delinquent. Once approved, you’ll receive confirmation of the exact start and end dates.
For mortgages, the process starts with a call to your servicer. Most mortgage servicers have a loss mitigation department that will walk you through the options and required paperwork. FHA borrowers may need to complete a trial payment plan before a partial claim is finalized.11HUD.gov. Updates to Servicing, Loss Mitigation, and Claims
Plan for the Restart
Payments resume on the date specified in your deferment approval letter. There’s no additional grace period for federal student loans coming out of deferment; the next payment is due according to the schedule. If your financial situation hasn’t improved, apply for a new deferment or explore income-driven repayment plans before the current deferment expires, not after.
The most common mistake is treating deferment as a permanent fix. It’s a bridge, not a destination. If you defer repeatedly without addressing the underlying problem, you accumulate capitalized interest, extend your loan term, and increase the total you’ll pay. Use the breathing room to explore longer-term solutions like income-driven repayment, loan modification, or refinancing at a lower rate.