Hi Heather,

Thank you so much for this site! It’s nice being able to get reliable info on student loans for a change.

My question is about the IBR Alternative Documentation of Income. I graduated last year, and my income was only around $7,000. I will have more income this year, though still not a lot. Maybe around $19-20k.

I told my lender all of this, and they flat out said just to use the lower AGI. They said they only wanted me to fax the IBR form and tax return for 2011. I guess the question is: What represents enough of a change in AGI that one would be expected to report it? I looked at the IBR calculator, and at an income of 20k, my monthly payments would still be pretty minuscule (around $40/mo).

I don’t want to mess any of this up, but figuring this stuff out isn’t easy…

Once again, thanks!!

Zora

Zora, it’s a bear isn’t it?

Alternative documentation of income is required only if the borrower’s AGI is unavailable, or if the Secretary believes that the borrower’s reported AGI does
not reasonably reflect the borrower’s current income.  It’s up to the loan servicer to decide when they think AGI doesn’t reasonably reflect current income.  It seems to me like the typical practice has been using the previous year’s tax filing unless the borrower demonstrates that they are earning less.

Thank you, Heather!

Instead of messing with this stuff, I decided to just ask my lender for a voluntary forbearance until after February. I’ll file my taxes and use that AGI info in the electronic IBR application, and it will be accurate.

My issue is, and continues to be, the wording of the application (both paper and electronic). Customer service has told me it really doesn’t matter which income I use, but that’s not the impression I get from reading the actual IBR app. Maybe it’s simply the way they do business, but if something goes wrong later, it’s MY signature on the dotted line.

Once again, thank you! This site is the most helpful I’ve seen on navigating student loans. I just wish more people knew about it!

Zora