IBRinfo

Answering Your IBR Questions

Updates to FAQ

Since Income-Based Repayment (IBR) became available on July 1, 2009, many of you have asked specific and important questions via email and Facebook. We've updated our FAQ with many of the answers, and we're working closely with the U.S. Department of Education to resolve the rest. The Department is developing their own FAQ that will be available soon.

Here are some of the new and updated FAQs on IBRinfo:

• Are joint consolidation loans eligible for IBR and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)?
• What happens when I am in IBR and my income increases significantly?
• When and how will my lender check my AGI (Adjusted Gross Income)?
• What if I don't file taxes, or my most recent tax return does not reflect my current financial situation?
• Can I qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if I work overseas?
• My loan has been sold or re-assigned, can I still qualify for IBR?

If you still have questions after going through all our FAQs, you can submit them directly to the Department of Education Ombudsman. That office will be handling IBR questions until Federal Student Aid sets up a dedicated email address.

There's Still Time to Take Action for Real Loan Forgiveness!

In addition to lowering monthly student loan payments, Income-Based Repayment (IBR) forgives any remaining debt -- including interest -- after 25 years of payments. Most borrowers will pay off their debt before then, but under current law, if there's anything left after 25 years, the amount forgiven would be taxed as income to the borrower. 

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R.2492, would prevent the taxation of debt forgiven through IBR. Loan forgiveness is supposed to wipe the slate clean for responsible borrowers, not create a new financial obligation.

If you haven't already, please take a moment to urge your representative to support H.R. 2492 and ensure there's really a light at the end of the tunnel.

Take action!

(This message was sent to the IBRinfo mailing list on July 10, 2009.)