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In general, are CPA's familiar with loan rules? We want to get our taxes done by a professional since things are getting a little more complicated, and it would be great if they automatically knew the ins an outs of the way that works. She's currently on IBR and is working for a non-profit, so the filing status is pretty important for how much we save in the long run.
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Oct 13, 2017 19:42
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Raimondo posted:In general, are CPA's familiar with loan rules? It's been many years since I took calls from borrowers, but based on that time I would say: no. No they are not. Probably not 100% of the time, but I would highly recommend you call your servicer and ask very specific questions related to any suggestions a CPA makes. Boxman posted:I have a single private student loan outstanding with some truly insane terms (20 year repayment, variable rate is prime minus 1%.) I have a stable, well paying job, and the idea of paying that much in interest bothers me a bit. Also, I should say that the rate has been creeping up but it's definitely not anywhere near oppressive - currently sitting at 3%. The servicer is AES, if it matters. I agree with spwrozek. This is a great rate, just toss more money at it. Also, break your payments into two per month - you end up paying a bit less interest over time on a simple interest loan.
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Oct 13, 2017 20:56
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Raimondo posted:In general, are CPA's familiar with loan rules? I become a licensed CPA in May, but have been an accountant for almost ten years. My answer is "no" (note the quotations). We are familiar with the student loan interest deduction, but actually navigating various forms of forgiveness is not something I necessarily experience in my day to day work. I'm more focused on GAAP and IRS rules. The vocabulary overlaps a lot, so it wouldn't be a tough one to learn. If anything, a CPA who specializes in tax planning would probably have it on their radar on account of tax implications stemming from different types of forgiveness.
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Oct 14, 2017 00:28
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Anyone know how long public service employment verification takes? I submitted my employer verification, but have heard nothing. Their faq page doesn't say.
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Oct 19, 2017 00:27
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How do you guys keep morale high when aggressively paying back loans? I’m past the initial interest payments and am into the meat of the principal. But my motivation isn’t as grand as before and I’ve been slacking. I’d like to think there’s some mobile app out there which turns finance goals into a RPG, but I figure people have paid back loans since barter economies and had to drum up motivation the old way.
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Oct 19, 2017 04:48
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Evil SpongeBob posted:Anyone know how long public service employment verification takes? I submitted my employer verification, but have heard nothing. Their faq page doesn't say. Did you mail it or submit it online? Mailing took a month or two, online submission took a few weeks
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Oct 19, 2017 14:23
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buglord posted:How do you guys keep morale high when aggressively paying back loans? I’m past the initial interest payments and am into the meat of the principal. But my motivation isn’t as grand as before and I’ve been slacking. I’d like to think there’s some mobile app out there which turns finance goals into a RPG, but I figure people have paid back loans since barter economies and had to drum up motivation the old way. I guess for myself I've been excited to have the "monkey off my back". I've been out of school for almost 10 years and for a lot of that time my payment was an additional rent check every month, practically. I was ski bumming in the High Rockies so I really have to blame myself for my low income, but I stuck with it. Now that I'm earning some decent money I've brutalized a good portion of my loans. I was paying $415/mo private, $220 federal, and $70 to another little dinky school loan. That's $705/month. I took out $50k ($60k? I don't want to run those numbers right now) or so for 5.5 years of undergrad netting enough credits to take my CPA exam. My first job out of school was for $30k a year and my monthly rent was $700 a month. After several years I topped out at a princely $40k a year then moved. I gradually began to see the interest deduction fall below the yearly limit on my taxes and now that I make some proper money (more than twice as much as I did previously) I decided to end it. This past six months I've retired all but about $8k of it all and my monthly payments are now $160 private and that's it. I can roll the extra money I'm not paying anymore into higher monthly payments so it's going to wrap up in the next few months. Right now I need to pump up my tax payments (I do consulting on the side) so that 2017 doesn't beat me up on the tax return side of things, but then it's back to wiping it all out. I guess for me I never really thought I'd ever pay it all off. By time I really started looking at things, I was horrified at a monster 10% loan I had in my private portfolio. Up until that point I was barely scraping by making the minimum monthly payments. Now the final payment will represent freedom: no debt. I can do whatever I want and it's gonna feel good. I don't regret my college degree or the loans. I certainly don't mind spending my twenties in one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. It's a bummer that I literally couldn't afford to pay more into my loans in the past, but it's almost behind me. I think I'm going to buy myself a really nice guitar when I'm done. Maybe a TV. Definitely a new computer. There are a great many things I've refused myself over the years in the name of being financially responsible under the conditions. It's been a long journey.
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Oct 19, 2017 19:29
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The Slack Lagoon posted:Did you mail it or submit it online? Mailing took a month or two, online submission took a few weeks Fax. 
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Oct 21, 2017 05:02
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Oh uhh good luck! You can try giving them a call
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Oct 21, 2017 05:44
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 https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/926084701433008128
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Nov 2, 2017 16:59
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With so much poo poo they want to change I missed that one. Sucks for people who actually rely on it.
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Nov 2, 2017 23:57
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Never been able to take it because I'm MFS 
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Nov 3, 2017 00:06
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edit: More extensive googling answered this question, nevermind
Trumps Baby Hands fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Nov 12, 2017 |
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Nov 12, 2017 22:10
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If I schedule a payment on Fedloan for the due date and for no reason at all they don't process that payment til the next day, is it late? Because if it is I'm going to be furious
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Dec 8, 2017 15:10
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Nevvy Z posted:If I schedule a payment on Fedloan for the due date and for no reason at all they don't process that payment til the next day, is it late? Shouldn't be. Usually they take like 4-5 days to show in your account. Their phone reps are pretty helpful too if you have questions.
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Dec 8, 2017 15:19
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Hey folks, I'm sure this scenario has been tackled before in the thread so I apologize if this is a repeat. I graduated in 2011 with around 18,000 in student loans. I was employed until 2014 so I was able to make my payments on time for quite a few years after graduating. Unfortunately I started really struggling with mental health issues around the start 2014 and I stopped working and stopped making loan payments. I know that's one of the worst things you can do, but I also filed for bankruptcy around that time and I just wasn't capable of being on top of things in many areas of my life. As of now I'm feeling much more capable of handling my financial matters and I'm working with a local state agency to get help with employment. They can offer me financial assistance to take a certificate course if my loans are in good standing. My loans however are in default and have been handed off to debt collectors. I tried making an appointment with a different local organization that helps people figure out their loan situation but I'm not eligible for help since I have a Bachelors degree. Would a website like debt.org be a good place to start? I'm at a loss for where to turn. Any help would be really, really appreciated. Thanks!!
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Dec 11, 2017 19:27
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ServoMST3K posted:Hey folks, I'm sure this scenario has been tackled before in the thread so I apologize if this is a repeat. Hi there! I'm sorry to hear about your mental health issues, and I'm glad you're doing better. In regards to your student loans, assuming these are all federal, there are no outside debt agencies which can work with student loan servicers. You will need to contact the guarantor, who should currently be holding your loans, and arrange for rehabilitation with them. If you're not sure who has your loans now, you can check the National Student Loan Data System (https://www.nslds.ed.gov/npas/index.htm). You may have to request a PIN etc., but once you're in you can see your loan information, status, and where they are. If you have private loans you need to check up on, you can pull their information on your credit report using annualcreditreport.com.
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Dec 11, 2017 19:59
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Thanks for the info! I can't believe there aren't any agencies that are able to help people manage this sort of stuff. In your experience are the companies typically willing to at least work out some sort of repayment plan? Cause if not then, pardon my french, I'm screwed!
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Dec 11, 2017 23:58
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To be frank, the companies that tried working with these debts were often very predatory and didn't know anything about how to handle federal student loans. They would lie to their clients about making payments on the loans, and we'd end up having to explain why someone should've believed our late notices before defaulting. Now that is all around ten years ago, and there's been ten years of regulations including financial regs, so I'm hoping it's entirely different now. But I will say this: federal loans are designed to work with the borrower's situation. We had people who came out of rehab after paying like $10 a month for the rehabilitation period. Now there's more repayment options, and if you've never used any deferment /forbearance time before, it'll all be there to use now. I hope you're able to get everything arranged and worked out! Good luck!
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Dec 12, 2017 02:38
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Hi thread. Looking for some advice with limited info here. My girlfriend graduated with her undergrad 2 years ago from an expensive private school. She currently has, I think, like 60k or so in outstanding student loans (with Sallie Mae, I think, but I could be wrong) that she has been paying off, and hasn't missed a payment. She recently got accepted into nursing school and is supposed to start in January. She applied for more loans for nursing school and tonight got responses back saying she has been denied due to her outstanding debt (I think she applied to three different lenders, one being Sallie Mae, all denied her) and to re-apply with a cosigner. Unfortunately, both of her parents have terrible credit and she has no one to cosign for her, so now she is freaking out. She got 12.5k in federal loans and needs another 25k which would cover her spring and summer semesters. That's all the info I have right now because she's pretty upset and I'm trying to do what I can to help her out. What are options for someone who needs to take out student loans for a second degree, doesn't have a cosigner and already has a pretty big student loan out? Is there anything or is she hosed?
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Dec 24, 2017 03:46
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sausage king of Chicago posted:Hi thread. Looking for some advice with limited info here. So she filled out a FAFSA and got 12.5K in additional federal loans for this year? How long is the nursing program for? Four years for a BSN? It sounds like she's already been trying to get private student loans, and has been denied without a cosigner. Unless her parents own a home and can leverage their assets (remortgage their home) to the tune of 100,000$, then I highly doubt your girlfriend is going to nursing school next month. I'm pretty sure your girl is gonna have to wait tables instead. 
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Dec 24, 2017 22:57
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It’s going to be a lot harder to get loans after she already received one degree too. Please don’t co-sign for her.
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Dec 25, 2017 01:31
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America: Garbage Country
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Dec 25, 2017 04:30
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Mourne posted:So she filled out a FAFSA and got 12.5K in additional federal loans for this year? How long is the nursing program for? Four years for a BSN? It sounds like she's already been trying to get private student loans, and has been denied without a cosigner. Unless her parents own a home and can leverage their assets (remortgage their home) to the tune of 100,000$, then I highly doubt your girlfriend is going to nursing school next month. Did they cut way down on federal loans or something? Back in 2005 when i went to Law school (lol) they were just giving me everything i asked for and i didn’t need private loans at all.
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Dec 25, 2017 04:54
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Mourne posted:So she filled out a FAFSA and got 12.5K in additional federal loans for this year? How long is the nursing program for? Four years for a BSN? It sounds like she's already been trying to get private student loans, and has been denied without a cosigner. Unless her parents own a home and can leverage their assets (remortgage their home) to the tune of 100,000$, then I highly doubt your girlfriend is going to nursing school next month. Yeah. The program is an accelerated one, so it's 18 months long. gently caress, this will be tough. It really sucks that she has never missed a payment with her current loans, but is still being denied. Not sure what to tell her :/ Thanks for the help.
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Dec 25, 2017 18:29
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Tell her she also needs to contact the financial aid office directly to see if there's anything available to students in her situation. Those programs don't quality for GradPLUS loans (I believe, FA office can confirm this), so if she can't get a private loan without a cosigner, she may have to rethink this one.
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Dec 25, 2017 19:05
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sausage king of Chicago posted:Yeah. The program is an accelerated one, so it's 18 months long. Sorry, Bro. The aggregate lifetime limit for undergraduate federal student loans is 57,500$. It sounds like she already used a bunch of that money on her first undergrad degree, which is why she only got 12,500$ in federal loans for the upcoming semester. Without a cosigner for the private student loans (  DO NOT COSIGN FOR YOUR GIRLFRIEND ) there's not much she can do except work to save up the money she needs to go back to school. And trying to save up 25,000$ in cash is a nearly impossible task.Wiggy Marie posted:Tell her she also needs to contact the financial aid office directly to see if there's anything available to students in her situation. Those programs don't quality for GradPLUS loans (I believe, FA office can confirm this), so if she can't get a private loan without a cosigner, she may have to rethink this one. This is her best bet, but they may not be able to do much for her. Her best bet may very well be looking into a career path that uses the degree she already has.
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Dec 25, 2017 22:21
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Who the hell do i talk to about possibly getting lower rates for my student loans? After talking with some friends this weekend, I realized my interest rates for my Discover private loans are super loving high compared to others’ (9%+), despite living with a single mom and lower class family. Will my bank give me free advice or should I just look into refinancing. teen phone cutie fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Dec 27, 2017 |
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Dec 27, 2017 14:55
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Grump posted:Who the hell do i talk to about possibly getting lower rates for my student loans? There are companies that refi student loans. The first step is knowing what kind of loans they see. Are they private loans? Are they Federal loans? If they are Federal, are they subsidized or unsubsidized? Federal loans have some protections that private loans don't have. If the loans are private then I would definitely try to refi. Here is s list from nerdwallet about companies thst refi student loans. https://www.nerdwallet.com/refinancing-student-loans
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Dec 27, 2017 15:25
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Sorry. I edited the post right before you replied. Yeah - they're private loans with Discover. I think I'm definitely going to look into refinancing. I just wasn't 100% sure it was a smart thing to do, but if it gets me lower interest rates, it's a no-brainer, right?
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Dec 27, 2017 15:36
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Grump posted:Sorry. I edited the post right before you replied. Ya if they are private there's really no downside to refi. Just make sure there's no origination fees, which there shouldn't be. I refi d some private loans and dropped the interest from 9.8% to 6.25%, and that was with kind of a bad credit score (680 I think) and a lower income
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Dec 27, 2017 15:43
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What about Parent Plus loans? My mom took out the loan, but now I'm paying for it, since I'm financially stable enough. Do I have any options there for refinancing?
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Dec 27, 2017 15:53
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I won't be able to help you there, unfortunately. I'm not familiar.
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Dec 27, 2017 15:54
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Be aware that if you refinance you can't take advantage of the federal loan forgiveness program (if you're eligible)! If they're private, yeah do it ASAP. I also don't believe the parent loans can be forgiven, so refinancing is probably a good plan there too.
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Dec 27, 2017 16:40
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PLUS loans are eligible for forgiveness programs and can't be refinanced into your own loans unless you go a fully private refinance route. I would highly discourage this because of the federal protections for federal loans. Because PLUS were taken out in the student's name they're eligible for a lot of the same forgiveness. Or at least they were...not sure if those regs have changed so definitely check on that! For those private loans, definitely shop around for a good deal!
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Dec 27, 2017 18:54
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If I know that I'll never be eligible for a forgiveness program, should I consider refinancing? My government loans have pretty good rates as is, so I don't see a need to refinance, but are there other benefits that I should be considering?
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Dec 27, 2017 19:05
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Wiggy Marie posted:PLUS loans are eligible for forgiveness programs and can't be refinanced into your own loans unless you go a fully private refinance route. I would highly discourage this because of the federal protections for federal loans. Because PLUS were taken out in the student's name they're eligible for a lot of the same forgiveness. Or at least they were...not sure if those regs have changed so definitely check on that! As I understand it direct PLUS loans are eligible but parent PLUS loans are not. They can become eligible through a federal consolidation, but that resets the clock for forgiveness. It's weird. Edit: the "what qualifies" question here is helpful: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service#page
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Dec 27, 2017 20:42
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Grump posted:If I know that I'll never be eligible for a forgiveness program, should I consider refinancing? Forgiveness isn't limited to public service for federal loans - there are a few forgiveness programs, including for death or permanent disability, which hopefully will never come up but is something to think about. Plus you won't have the same deferment/forbearance/repayment options. drat Your Eyes! posted:As I understand it direct PLUS loans are eligible but parent PLUS loans are not. They can become eligible through a federal consolidation, but that resets the clock for forgiveness. It's weird. I have heard of this but I've never looked for which and when. Back in the day Parent PLUS and Direct PLUS were eligible for the same things but that likely changed when Direct took over the entire program. However, the older loans are under their original contracts. To the poster, pull up the contract that was signed and read it through to see what forgiveness plans your parent signed for. They're all in there.
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Dec 28, 2017 04:13
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Did the new tax bill impact PSLF? There were a bunch of articles early December saying it could end it, but I don't see anything now that it has passed.
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Jan 5, 2018 13:18
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Raimondo posted:Did the new tax bill impact PSLF? There were a bunch of articles early December saying it could end it, but I don't see anything now that it has passed. No, it didn't, and also "ending PSLF" so far has only suggested they will not be continuing enrollment INTO the program. It will be a whole different tier of overhaul that would allow them to reneg on paying off PSLF for those of us who signed promissory notes with PSLF described in the borrowing statement. Not that they can't, but there will be some legal liability.
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Jan 5, 2018 14:05
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