I’m an RN in Boston, making $110k/yr. My husband does biotech research and makes $90k/yr. I have $14k in student loans, he has $140k in graduate and undergrad loans. He got an email saying his student loans are now accruing interest and he logged in to start figuring out payments, and the IBR is $1800 and IDR $1900 according to the student aid website. This can’t be real right?? Surely this is a mistake…it’s literally almost what we pay in RENT! I’m actually sick to my stomach. Any and all advice or feedback is welcome 🫠
$1900 MONTHLY PAYMENT??? Plz tell me it’s a mistake
byu/Cashewsslave inStudentLoans
Posted by Cashewsslave
37 Comments
Sounds about right if you consider that IBR/IDR considers both spouses income.
Sounds about right to me, unless you filed taxes separately
When did he take out his first loan? It is possible that he will be stuck on old IBR, which is 15% of discretionary income.
Also you might want to consider filing taxes as MFS, that could lower his payment
Sounds about right for MFJ.
Just pay what you can while in forbearance until you file taxes separately next year, at least cover interest. Then switch to a new payment plan and go from there.
Yes, the system has been fully weaponized to hurt people as much as possible. Best of luck.
That’s higher than what it should be based on the numbers you provided, but only by a couple hundred dollars.
If you file jointly, look up your AGI from your last tax return and then use this calculator to double check:
https://www.studentloanplanner.com/income-based-repayment-calculator/
Unfortunately, you make a combined income of $200K, with presumably a still fairly high AGI. Once you reach a certain household income level, income-based plans no longer make sense in some cases. You could explore filing your taxes separately to see whether that scenario would be more beneficial in your circumstances. Your husband might be eligible for an extended standard repayment plan, though I’m not sure what effect having a spouse would have on that eligibility.
Well… The balance is the price of a house, so… Yeah. Sounds about right.
I pay 2200ish a month in SL and I make about 90k a year, you can do it… it sucks but sounds like you can definitely afford it
How the hell do you have ~$1,900 rent in BOSTON?
Truly, I feel your pain. What the other commenter said about filing taxes separately next year is what my spouse and I are planning on doing too. Cruelty really is the point. Hang in.
Just consider your combined income is $177,200.
You’d be perfectly fine with an income of $177,200 That’s what you will basically have after paying your student loans.
You’re only upset because you think you have an income of $200,000 but you’ve never thought about your promise to pay back your loans for schools.
That sounds right. I’m paying $1230.
You could always divorce him.
does filing separately on taxes help anything?
Y’all have like a small mortgage to pay back
Future students,
Please run the numbers for repayment (different scenarios) **BEFORE** taking out loans.
You make like $200 grand, time to start paying back your loans
In the short term-switch to the extended repayment plan. We have about the same income and 70 K in loans with payment around $400 a month.
Unfortunately, not a mistake. Tax accountant will help with weighing married filing jointly or separately but there are also some repayment plans where they don’t care if you’re married filing separately, they’ll still consider both your incomes. Read everything you can about the options because you don’t want to screen yourself over because you didn’t read the fine print.
I think there are student loan advisors you can talk to – don’t get scammed by a shady one though.
Might want to look into filing separately.
That sounds right. I make around 190k and my AGI for last year was 169k and my parent is going to be just over $1,800 per month.
You can max out your traditional 401k and HSA and some other things to drop your AGI. I can make a few adjustments and next year my payment will be closer to $1,600. Not a huge difference but better than nothing.
You guys make a lot of dough. Shouldn’t be hard paying this off
You did something wrong. It shouldn’t be more than 1600 based on your stats. The cap is 10% for IBR. He needs to find a job with PSLF or something with government to get it paid for or y’all are gonna have a shitty time paying these off
Put just his income in a calculator and get an idea. Same for yours. Definitely consult an accountant
I think that is accurate unfortunately. Something similar happened to me. I was not working due to COVID but my husband receives a military retirement and disability. They based MY student loans on HIS income alone. His income/disability is under $100,000/yr, however; my student loans are a little more than your husbands. They are saying that my student loans repayment under IDR is over $2200/month. I am in the process of finding out if I file my taxes, separately, if they will base my payments on my income alone. For reference though, I did NOT borrow more than $50,000 myself….the interest is what pushed it over $200,000. I stayed at home a lot due to being hit in a head-on car crash, having a daughter that had cancer, and a husband who was transferring and deploying a lot with the military and is now disabled, which left me as his caregiver.
Needless to say, I have had to request a forbearance in hopes that I can have a little more time to start feeling better and get a decent job once again down the line (I, too, work in healthcare).
Not that it will you feel better…but it all makes me want to throw up as well. 😔
With his loan being over 30k, he could qualify for extended plans
Which cost more over time but could be more affordable now
Idk that sounds right 🙁 if I understand correctly they take your total income and determine total student loan payment, then allocate to each person proportionally based on student loan balance. You could try to file separately ? I’m not actually sure if that fixes anything, my partner and I always file separately and even though they make a smidge less than I do, they always have a higher monthly payment than me because they have more student loans. I don’t really know how to make any of this make sense
I empathize. My payment just went up from ~$500 to over $1,500/month thanks to the Big Ugly Bill killing off PAYE. My loan service provider had told me I’d stay on PAYE until next year and then surprised me with a new bill on 8/31 saying my first auto debit of over $1,500 would be paid on 9/25.
Unfortunately not a mistake. Average student loan payment is somewhere around $500-600, even though the average loan balance in the country is about $20-25k. Your balance is much higher than average so not unheard of that your monthly payment is also higher than average.
My only advice is to payoff as much as possible as quickly as possible. If larger monthly payments are painful, put any additional money (3 paycheck months, tax return, bonuses, etc) towards the loans so you can chip away at the balance. Good luck to you and your husband.
What’s the standard 10 year repayment? Lots of ppl have recommended filing taxes separately, but you can also refinance the loans with a private lender for a lower fixed rate. Realistically though, it’ll be at least 1400/month for the next 10 years. That’s really not that bad with you guys’ income, and hubby’s income will likely increase over the next few years as he becomes more established in his field.
Yes this sounds right.
Something doesn’t seem right. $1900/month on $140,000 is a 16% interest rate without any principal repayment.
Were his loan rates *higher* than 16%?
I had to high off an income (HCOL state) to use any kind of income repayment plan.
The only option I got that didn’t make me broke was to pick standard or graduated plan.
Sorry not much help here. But your not alone…
Your household take home is probably $12k. Yall should really put your head down and aggressively pay it off.
You make $200k per year. You can easily afford it. What was he expecting when he borrowed $150k? It was never going to be $300 per month.
My minimum payment was $1100 per month in 2007 when I made $60k and was single. The only way I moved the needle was by making more money and tripling my payments. Yes, tripling. Stop whining. You guys make $200k per year. Cut the bullshit spending and pay your loans.