How to Get Student Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses (2024)

FAQs

How to Get Student Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses? ›

You can still get military spouse student loan forgiveness through Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Plans. IDR refers to the four student loan repayment options based on a percentage of your income. Depending on your chosen plan, you can potentially have a remaining balance of 20 or 25 years forgiven.

If you and your spouse filed taxes jointly, you'll need to have made less than $250,000 combined to qualify for student loan forgiveness. If your combined income was above that threshold, neither of you will be eligible. Your 2020 and 2021 tax returns will be used as proof of income.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) is a federal program for individuals who work at eligible public service jobs like non-profit organizations. Military spouses who work full-time for eligible employers can have their student loan debt wiped out in as little as 10 years.

Military spouses are eligible for the forgiveness programs available to other federal student loan borrowers, but there is no specific forgiveness program for the spouses of active duty service members or veterans.

If you have a Joint Spousal Direct Consolidation Loan, you can qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. If both you and your spouse have been employed full time by a qualifying employer at the time that each qualifying payment was made, 100% of the Consolidation Loan can be forgiven.

If you both reach this requirement at the same time, the entire remaining balance would be forgiven. However, if one spouse reaches 120 qualifying payments first, only that spouse's portion of the loan would be forgiven, and the remaining balance would continue to be the responsibility of both spouses.

Neither you nor your spouse is liable for any student loan debt the other accrued before you got married unless you happened to co-sign for it; however, if one of you takes out a new loan after being married, both spouses could be.

Under the 2003 Servicemember's Civil Relief Act (SCRA), spouses of active duty service members can get help with their financial obligations if they have burdensome loans that are either in the service member's name or in both spouses' names.

As a military spouse, you have access to career and education support, non-medical counseling, financial benefits and much more. All free and available 24/7.

As the spouse or dependent child of a Veteran or service member, you may qualify for certain benefits, like health care, life insurance, or money to help pay for school or training.

What benefits does my husband get if he is 100 percent disabled Veteran? ›

The spouse of a veteran with a 100% disability rating is entitled to benefits, including healthcare and educational. The veteran is also entitled to additional monetary help for the spouse and for other eligible dependents.

If you get a TPD discharge, you won't have to repay the following loan types: William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans. Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans. Federal Perkins Loans.

If your school closes while you're attending or shortly after you graduate, you could qualify for a federal student loan discharge of up to 100%. Qualifying loans include Direct Loans, FFEL Program Loans and Perkins Loans. Cancellation amount: Up to 100%.

You must be a direct employee of a qualifying employer for your employment to qualify. This means that employees of contracted organizations, that are not themselves a qualifying employer, won't qualify for PSLF including government contractors and for-profit organizations.

There are no income limits for the PSLF program. However, if your income is high relative to the balance of your student loans, you might not qualify for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan.

Any month when your scheduled minimum payment on an income-driven plan is $0 will count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) as long as are employed full-time by a qualifying employer during that month.

Any student loans you took out before marriage won't become jointly owned when you say “I do.” But when you're building your life with someone, their debt has an impact on your future plans. » MORE: Should you consolidate student loans with your spouse?

If you're married, you and your spouse's income and student loan debt will be considered to determine your payment only if you file your taxes jointly. If you file your taxes separately, only your information is used to determine your payment.

To claim the Student Loan Interest Deduction, your MAGI must be $90,000 or less for single filers and $185,000 or less for joint filers in 2023. The deduction phases out for single filers with MAGIs of $75,000 to $90,000 and joint filers with MAGIs of $155,000 to $185,000.

In conclusion, your spouse's wages can't be garnished for your student loan debt. The only exception is if they cosigned your private loan application. Even then, the lender would need to sue them and get a court judgment first before they can garnish their wages.