How Marriage Affects Your Student Loans - NerdWallet (2024)

FAQs

How Marriage Affects Your Student Loans - NerdWallet? ›

Marriage can impact your repayment plan: How does marriage affect student loans? Marriage can affect your payments if you have federal student loans and are enrolled in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. Some plans consider your spouse's income when determining your payments, even if you file separate returns.

Tying the knot can affect your monthly student loan payments, loan-related tax breaks and even your ability to pursue other financial goals. But marriage doesn't mean saying "I do" to another set of student loans. Each of you remains responsible for loans you took out before you walked down the aisle.

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.

Once you get married, you have to report your spouse's income on your loan application, and this can affect what type of federal student loans you're eligible to take out — Direct Subsidized or Unsubsidized. Your eligibility for a private student loan isn't affected.

No, you don't. Any debts either spouse had before marriage remain their own responsibility, with one notable exception. If you cosign a loan for your significant other or open a joint account on a credit card before you officially tie the knot, you're both responsible for the debt after your marriage date.

Federal student loans are generally kept with the person who took them out as a separate debt, regardless of whether they were married at the time or not, and regardless of where they live.

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.

Tax filing status does not affect who completes the FAFSA. The parents have to actually be divorced or separated, not just filing separate returns, for only one parent to be responsible for completing the FAFSA.

Generally, you're not responsible for your spouse's student loan debt unless you co-signed for it or opened a joint credit card account before you got married.

Just as a dependent student must include parental income, married students need to include their spouse's income on the FAFSA because it helps determine financial need.

Will I lose my Pell Grant if I get married? ›

For married students, eligibility for the Pell grant will be determined by the combined income and assets of the applying student and their spouse. Award amounts are determined by financial need, cost of attendance, and the applicant's status as a full or part time student.

If the custodial parent, the parent responsible for completing the FAFSA, has remarried as of the application date, then the stepparent's financial information must be reported. If your child has received any money from her stepfather or government benefit programs, it counts as support for your child.

If you are updating your legal name with Student Records, it is also important to update your FAFSA if you are receiving financial aid. You must use your legal name (not a preferred name) when applying for financial aid. Your legal name is the one that appears on your Social Security card.

If your spouse took out student loans, including private student loans, before you got married, those loans remain their sole responsibility. This applies universally, regardless of the state you live in.

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.

Any debt you have before marriage remains separate, unless you add your partner as a cosigner. And debts incurred after you're married that you hold jointly can affect both spouses' credit scores. Common examples of these are mortgages and auto loans.

First, it's important to understand the difference between individual debt and joint debt. If your spouse has debt in their name only, then the creditor cannot garnish your wages.

Most states use common law (also known as equitable distribution), which dictates that married couples don't automatically share personal property legally. In other words, you aren't responsible for your spouse's debt unless you took it out together as a joint account, or you cosigned on it.

Yes, you can — just not via the U.S. Department of Education. To transfer student loans, you'll need to find someone willing to refinance with a private lender under their own name.

You can usually claim the student loan tax deduction if you meet all these requirements: Your filing status is any status except married filing separately. No one else is claiming you as a dependent.