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Topic: Moving to the UK...US Student Loans  (Read 969 times)

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Moving to the UK...US Student Loans
« on: February 07, 2017, 01:00:59 AM »
Hi all, not sure if this is the right place to post but i figured it would be appropriate here. I just got my spousal visa approved (Yay!!) and now getting into logistics of said move.

I'm unemployed and will be freelancing for three months for pocket money when I get to London which will be my first source of income. (and might I add it won't be much of a pay).

At the moment, I have my graduate/undergraduate student loan debt (all federal government no private) under the PAYE plan and since I have no income I make no payments. Now that my situation has changed - I just recently got married & will be making a small amount of money for just three months...what do I have to do? Do I wait till I get a stable salaried job? Do I contact them now that I have a source of income or wait till I file US taxes? I'm very unsure how to move forward and planning the move is a stress enough!

Any advice would be helpful. Thank you in advance!
« Last Edit: February 07, 2017, 01:02:20 AM by aya »


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Re: Moving to the UK...US Student Loans
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2017, 03:20:44 PM »
Hi.  You should probably speak with your loan servicer to get the precise details of what is required of you. It's my understanding that you are supposed to be letting them know whenever your income changes to remain in compliance with the program regs. Not sure there's any potential problem in this case, since low-income=no payments anyway.

Your PAYE payment is tied to your income and is based on the federal poverty level and the number of people you are supporting.  The poverty level is currently (I think) about $11,000 a year for a single person.  Anything above that amount is looked at as being available as surplus (your discretionary income).

I believe that if you file your taxes as "married filing separately",  only your income would be considered in setting your repayment amount (and you'll have to recertify annually - the loan servicer should send you the forms/notices). If you file a joint return with your spouse, they will look at all that joint income as being available to you to pay back your loans and even with the additional person being supported on that money, your required payments will likely go up (if your spouse is making a decent living, that is).  So you'll want to weigh the difference in the higher taxes you'd pay as married filing separately v the increase in student loan payments in the long run. (You'll probably want to verify this all.)

Hope this helps? :)



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Re: Moving to the UK...US Student Loans
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2017, 06:04:01 PM »
Hey!

If you're on the same plan as me, you send in paperwork once a year to your loan servicer (mine's Nelnet) telling them what your current salary is. Since you only do it once a year, you don't have to tell them until that paperwork is due again.

We had a few threads about this last year you might be interested in looking at, especially if your loans are held by Nelnet. Can't look them up as I'm on my phone and that's too big of a pain on this tiny screen.

Hope that's helpful.

The usual. American girl meets British guy. They fall into like, then into love. Then there was the big decision. The American traveled across the pond to join the Brit. And life was never the same again.


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