Marylanders struggling with student debt have a week left to get some help with their loans from the state.

Applications for the Maryland Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit are due on Sept. 15.

Maryland comptroller Peter Franchot said the credit is open to any Maryland resident with at least $5,000 left to pay on their student loan debt.

“Fundamentally, it’s free money totaling $5,000 over a couple years that can be applied to someone’s student debt,” Franchot said. “It’s not curative because … people just have a lot of student debt, unfortunately. But it’s a positive contribution from the state of Maryland.”

Once residents qualify for the credit, they have two years to use it to pay down the balance of their student loan debt — or else the credit goes back to the state.

In 2019, nearly 9,500 Maryland residents qualified for a total of $9 million in tax credits.

On average, Maryland residents owe more than $27,000 in student loan debt.