If you and your spouse took out a loan jointly, both of you must satisfy the requirements. When both parties make 120 qualifying payments, the debt will be forgiven. However, if one of you works with a qualified employer, only the debt attributable to that individual will be canceled. For example, if you made 120 payments and your spouse has never worked, the original loans you received will be paid off. Meanwhile, both of you will still be responsible for paying the rest.  Keep in mind that both of you should make 120 payments, not in total, but individually.