Married Student-Loan Borrowers Dodged a Payment Increase: Here’s What Happened

Student loan repayment news is breaking so fast that it’s difficult to keep up these days. Now, there are changes to the Department of Education’s declarations about how a married borrower’s payments are calculated for certain income-based plans. 

Filing separately or jointly matters

Late last week, the Department of Education submitted a court filing that addressed married student-loan borrowers enrolled in the income-driven repayment plan who had filed income taxes married but separately. 

According to the declaration, those borrowers would have their student loan payments calculated using both spouses’ combined incomes — which could mean higher monthly payments, because more income would be included.  

Previously, a spouse’s income wasn’t included — only the income of the person who was enrolled in the income-driven repayment plan. 

On Tuesday, acting undersecretary James Bergeron updated the section of the filing. Now, married couples who file taxes separately or are separated from their spouses will not see a spouse’s income factored into monthly payments, as before. But those spouses will still be counted in the family’s size, which helps determine the payments in the first place.

Know what kind of plan you’re on because this change will affect income-contingent repayment plans, income-based repayment plans and pay-as-you-earn repayment plans.