(a) Loan repayments. For each year of the applicable service period the individual agrees to serve, the NIH may pay up to $50,000 per year of a participant's repayable debt.

(b) Payments are made directly to a participant's lender(s). If there is more than one outstanding qualified educational loan, the NIH will repay the loans in the following order, unless the NIH determines significant savings would result from paying loans in a different order of priority:

(1) Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services;

(2) Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education;

(3) Loans made or guaranteed by a state;

(4) Loans made by a school; and

(5) Loans made by other entities.

(c) Tax liability payments: In addition to the loan repayments, the NIH shall make tax payments in an amount equal to 39 percent of the total annual loan repayment to the Internal Revenue Service on the participant's behalf. The NIH may make additional payments to those participants who show increased Federal, State, and/or local taxes as a result of loan repayments.

(d) Under paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section, the NIH will make loan and tax liability payments to the extent appropriated funds are available for these purposes.

[78 FR 20468, Apr. 5, 2013, as amended at 88 FR 4739, Jan. 25, 2023]