There’s a pretty big downside to student loan forgiveness: You can get hit with tons of taxes down the road.

There are two types of student loan forgiveness offered through the federal government currently: public service forgiveness and loan forgiveness by income-based repayment plans. While the public service forgiveness is free, the other route is riddled with tax bills. These taxes could be debilitating to lower-income borrowers, too. Essentially the tax debt ends up replacing your student loan debt.

Image via The College Investor.