Hi all!
I have about $60,000 in federal student loans, Mohela being my servicer, first loan in 2012ish and last in 2018ish. Currently in administrative forbearance on SAVE. I made about $100k in 2024 and $115k in 2025. I currently work at a non-profit hospital and want to start working towards PSLF if I start repayment (already have ~1 year from a previous employer).
Given the uncertainty with SAVE, I’d rather find the lowest monthly amount to keep ticking towards 120. When I use the loan simulator though, it tells me the Standard Repayment Plan would be at least $200 less than any of the IDR plans. Why would this be??
Additionally, using last year’s tax return results in a slightly lower payment, but can I still do that even if I got married in November 2025? Will they want to consider spouse’s income now even if using a single tax return? TIA!!
Student Loans and Tax Filing Qs
byu/Delicious-General121 inStudentLoans
Posted by Delicious-General121
1 Comment
Borrowers doing PSLF will have buy back as an option.
The loan simulator is often “not that smart.” Anecdotally the loan simulator seems to do a particularly bad job for those who have already entered repayment.
A potential catch with the standard repayment plan, is that it is the monthly amount is set to enable the borrower to pay off the loans within 10 years of first entering repayment. Someone who first entered repayment 9 years ago, then transitions over to the standard repayment plan, will have one year to pay off the remaining balance of the loan.
IBR and PAYE have payment caps.
For folks certifying their income using tax returns, the IDR plan will use AGI as the income measure.
In general spousal income can be excluded from IDR consideration if taxes are filed separately.