White House officials have been weighing — and leaning toward — the cancellation of up to $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower tied to an income threshold, CNN has learned.

According to multiple sources familiar with the discussions, the plan is designed to offer forgiveness to individuals who earn less than $125,000 per year.

In addition to that baseline of student loan debt forgiveness for individuals who fall under a certain income level, administration officials have also recently discussed the possibility of additional forgiveness for specific subsets of the population, according to sources familiar with internal discussions in the administration.

The announcement could come as early as Wednesday, but it is not clear that a final decision on the details of the announcement — as well as the timing — has been made, and there could always be eleventh-hour changes. The White House is also expected to address in the coming days whether to extend again the current pause on federal student loan payments, which is set to expire on Aug. 31.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

In recent days, White House officials have been in communication with lawmakers to discuss their thinking on student loan debt forgiveness, ahead of the current pause on payments expiring. Last week, for example, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia had a discussion with senior White House officials, sources said.

The White House has suggested in the past that Biden was considering canceling $10,000 per borrower but excluding those who earn more than $125,000 a year.

Setting an income cap, which has been the subject of intense debate both inside and outside the administration, was also crafted as a buffer against criticism that the forgiveness would benefit those with the means to manage their debt payments.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that Americans can expect a decision from the administration on student loans in the "next week or so." With less than two weeks to go, Americans have been left guessing for weeks whether Biden will extend the current moratorium or, perhaps, forgive some of their debt.

"We've been talking daily about this, and I can tell you the American people will hear within the next week or so from the President and the Department of Education on what we're going to be doing around that," Cardona told NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press."

He did not elaborate on the details, saying he would not get ahead of the announcement.

Some Democratic lawmakers and advocates have been urging Biden to broadly cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, but the president has consistently pushed back on canceling that much.

Biden has canceled more student loan debt than any other president, with his administration authorizing the cancellation of nearly $32 billion in loans largely for borrowers who were defrauded by their for-profit colleges and for permanently disabled borrowers.

WASHINGTON —

The U.S. Education Department has begun accepting applications for President Joe Biden's student debt cancellation — a plan that makes 43 million Americans eligible for at least some debt forgiveness.

Borrowers were notified late Friday that an early, "beta launch" version of a new online form was made available as the department looks to find and fix any glitches. Applications submitted during the pilot period will be processed after the form is officially made public, the agency said.

"This testing period will allow the department to monitor site performance through real-world use, test the site ahead of the official application launch, refine processes, and uncover any possible bugs prior to official launch," the department said in a statement.

The test form will be available "on and off" during the initial rollout, the department said on its website. The official form is expected to be made public later this month, and administration officials have been preparing for heavy web traffic.

Biden's plan calls for $10,000 in federal student debt cancellation for those with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that make less than $250,000 a year. Those who received federal Pell Grants to attend college are eligible for an additional $10,000.

The plan makes 20 million eligible to get their federal student debt erased entirely.

The department did not immediately say Monday how many applications it had fielded through the beta launch. Thousands took to social media to share the form, with many saying they submitted their applications with little trouble.

The Biden administration has touted it as a "simple, straightforward" application. It asks for the borrower's name, Social Security number, contact information and date of birth. It does not require income information but asks users to check a box attesting that they are eligible under the program's income limits.

That information will be checked against Education Department records to help identify applicants who are likely to exceed the income limits, the administration says. Those people will be asked for more information to prove their income.

An estimated 1 million to 5 million people will be required to provide that extra documentation, the Education Department said in a recent submission to the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

Creating and processing the form is estimated to cost nearly $100 million, a figure that angered advocates who view the application as an unnecessary barrier. The form is meant to help exclude the roughly 5% of borrowers who exceed the income limits, but advocates say it could also deter some lower-income Americans who need the relief.

Once the Education Department begins processing applications, borrowers should expect to see their debt forgiven in four to six weeks, officials say. Most applications submitted by mid-November will be processed by Jan. 1 — the day federal student loan payments are set to resume after being paused during the pandemic.

Borrowers will be able to submit applications through the end of 2023.

The Biden administration is pushing ahead with the debt cancellation even as it fights a growing number of legal challenges. Six Republican-led states are suing to block the plan, saying it oversteps Biden's authority and will lead to financial losses for student loan servicers, which are hired to manage federal student loans and earn revenue on the interest.

A federal judge in St. Louis is now weighing the states' request for an injunction to halt the plan. In court documents, the Education Department has vowed not to finalize any of the debt cancellation before Oct. 23.

Biden promised to pursue widespread student debt forgiveness as a presidential candidate, but the issue went through more than a year of internal deliberation amid questions about its legality. His plan sparked intense debate ahead of the midterm elections, with Republicans and some Democrats saying it's an unfair handout for college graduates.

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Despite a judge’s order last week issuing a temporary stay on President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans, the White House is still urging borrowers to apply for forgiveness.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said federal student loan borrowers are still encouraged to go to studentaid.gov to apply for loan forgiveness.

“The Department of Education will continue reviewing applications and preparing them for transmission to loan services. As of Friday, 22 million student borrowers have already applied for this game-changing relief,” Jean-Pierre said.

The judge’s stay came after six Republican-led states filed a lawsuit attempting to stop Biden’s plan from going into effect. A lower court had ruled the states did not have standing, but an appeals court granted the stay.

The stay is not a final decision on it but allows the court time to review the case before allowing the administration to execute the student loan forgiveness. The White House stressed that the order was “temporary.”

“What I can say: It's a temporary order, and we're going to do everything that we can to continue to do our outreach and make sure that people apply,” Jean-Pierre said.

The six states say that Biden’s plan is too costly. The Congressional Budget Office said the cost for the government to forgive student loans is an estimated $400 billion.

“A significant majority of Americans have already paid off their student loans or chose not to pursue higher education at all,” said Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. “By forcing them to pay for other people’s loans – regardless of income – President Biden’s mass debt cancellation punishes these Americans and belittles the path they chose. This expensive, unlawful plan is an insult to working people and must be stopped.”

Proponents of student loan forgiveness point out the rising cost of education in recent decades. The cost of tuition at a public four-year university in 2020-21 averaged $9,400, up from $8,500 from a decade earlier, when adjusted for inflation.

Government data shows that in the last three decades, the cost of attending a public university, which is generally far more affordable than a private one, has doubled. In the last 40 years, the cost has tripled.

A student attending a public university from 2017-21 would be expected to pay $38,093 in tuition and mandatory fees, in 2021 dollars. A person who attended a public university in 1977-81 would have been expected to pay $10,335 in 2021 dollars.

Biden's plan calls for borrowers with incomes of up to $150,000 to receive up to $10,000 in federal student loan forgiveness. That amount increases to $20,000 for borrowers who received pell grants.

The White House said Monday that it still has no plans to extend a pause on student loan payments that has been in effect since the start of the pandemic.

When asked Monday if the Biden Administration has any plans to extend the moratorium on loan payments, press secretary Jen Psaki said that a "smooth transition back into repayment is a high priority for the administration."

"The Department of Education is already communicating with borrowers to help them return to repayment on Feb. 1 and has secured contract extensions with loan servicers. So, we are preparing for a range of steps here," Psaki said.

She added that the White House is monitoring the impact that the omicron variant could have on the economy and added the administration would release more information on their plans in the weeks ahead.

In August, the White House extended the pause on student loan payments through January 2022. At the time, the Biden Administration noted that it would be the final time it would extend the moratorium.

The Trump Administration put a moratorium on student loan payments at the start of the pandemic. Since then, borrowers have not been required to make monthly payments on their loans.

According to Scripps political reporter Joe St. George, an estimated $110 billion is believed to be in the hands of Americans and not the federal government as a result of the no-payment pandemic policy.