If you are married and file taxes jointly, your joint income will be counted in figuring out the ICR repayment amount. Parent PLUS loans are not eligible to be repaid under ICR (or IBR or PAYE). However, parent PLUS borrowers can consolidate the PLUS loans and then choose ICR for the new Direct Consolidation loan.

Does marriage affect PSLF?

If you’re a married couple working towards PSLF, you can reduce your monthly payments now by filing your taxes separately. This works on either the PAYE or IBR plans if your spouse does not owe anything. If your tax filing status is “married filing separately”, you may get a lower student loan payment.

Can a married couple file jointly for student loans?

In the case of married couples, the government will count the income of both spouses when determining how much a couple can afford to pay for their student loans. One way to avoid counting spousal income for IDR payment calculations is to file taxes separately.

What happens to student loan interest if you file separately?

Filing separately means that a couple is no longer able to claim many popular tax deductions and credits. Most noteworthy for student loan borrowers is that the student loan interest deduction is lost by filing separately.

Can You claim student loan interest if you are married?

If you’re married, you can only claim the interest you paid on your student loans if you file jointly — the lesser of $2,500 or the actual amount of interest you paid, subject to income limit phaseouts. Separate filers cannot claim any student-loan interest.

What is the income limit to file jointly?

The new law raises the limit to 10 percent for 2019. If you and your spouse had an adjusted gross income of $100,000 and filed jointly, you could not deduct medical expenses unless they reached a minimum of $7,500. If by filing separately a spouse has an adjusted gross income of $50,000, the minimum deductible amount is $3,750.