Hi there! I am trying figure out if l should file separate or jointly, it's my first tax season married and I am on the SAVE plan (which I know now everything is changing). My main concern is: if we file jointly, would my monthly payments increase? Also, I have not been making payments this year. I know SAVE technically is no longer but I saw something saying it will take a long time possibly 2028 til something really changes. Appreciate all thoughts in advance!!!! 🫶 (first post on Reddit ever so sorry in advance if i didn’t post in the right area!!)
Increased monthly payments when filing married-joint?
byu/lols1023 inStudentLoans
Posted by lols1023
4 Comments
I’m interested in this answer because I thought if you were married your payment increased whether or not you filed jointly. It’s part if the reason I’m putting off getting married.Â
All SAVE-related dates are placeholders. SAVE is basically dead but we do not know what will happen to SAVE borrowers yet for sure or how/when they will be transitioned to something else. These are all the updates we have: [https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-court-actions](https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/idr-court-actions) We do not know when the forbearance will actually end. The forbearance is accruing interest as of 8/1/25.
A settlement is expected soon. It’s likely your plan will be changed and you will be back in repayment well before 2028 (the current popular placeholder date).
You can move yourself now or wait it out. Which choice is best depends on your goals for your loans (forgiveness vs repayment).
If your goal is forgiveness, making payments during forbearance is a bad idea. They do not count towards forgiveness. If you want to make qualifying payments you would have to switch to another IDR plan. But if your goal is paying the loans off over time then making payments during forbearance and targeting the loan with the highest interest rate first is a good idea.
Currently ICR, PAYE, and IBR are available as far as IDR plans go. RAP will start July 2026. By July 2028 there will only be IBR and RAP.
If you file taxes jointly your combined income is used to calculate your IDR payment. If you file separately then only your income is used.
If you file jointly and have an IDR plan, it’ll consider both of your incomes, whereas if you file separately it’ll just consider yours. Which is the right answer depends on a lot, like if your spouse also has student loans and what your taxes look like (you may lose out on other benefits if you file separately). When I was doing this I would run the numbers through the calculator to get an idea of the payment difference and also run my taxes both ways (without submitting!) to get an idea of the tax benefit difference. Typically in our situation it made more sense to file separately, as there wasn’t a huge change to our taxes, but that’s not a guarantee.Â
We have no way of knowing when SAVE will officially end, as we’re waiting on the judge to review the plan and then hear how it will be implemented. Some people are guessing it will be timed with RAP starting in July, but it’s all a guess. You can wait to file until April and see if an announcement is made before then, or file an extension to give yourselves until October. But, if you run the taxes you’ll be able to tell if it’s worth waiting.
Having said that, it’s pretty much a guarantee your payment will be higher than it was on SAVE, it’s just a question of how much. Run the calculators if you haven’t yet so you can prepare!
Depends on if she has loans too, or at least that’s a factor. My wife makes jack shit and has loans. I won’t have them after this year and make 80% of our income so we’ll be filing separately this year. Her payments will be nearly zero where if we filed jointly they’d be so something close to $1200 a month. I’ll take that extra grand and toss it in an investment account and use that to either pay off the tax bomb when she finally hits forgiveness or add it to our retirement if they do away with the tax nuke by then!