I live in Idaho (community property state). I make zero income because I take care of my four kids at home. I have a large student loan debt. When I use the IBR calculators I’m forced to use both incomes (since Idaho makes us “share” the income on our taxes). This happens when I use Married filing separate as the filing category.

Is there any way to force them to view only my income on the IBR just like they would in the majority of other states? I’m trying to decide if there’s any real benefit to filing separately. My wife also has student loan debt, so I know this brings down the AGI even under married filing jointly. Thanks!

I think you should find a way to make passive income since you can’t really work because of the kids. Have you thought of real estate investment or something like that?

Oh, I can tell you that real estate investment is definitely not the best way to make money when you have kids because you’ll have way more problems dealing with house management. I’m glad I managed to find a home window replacement San Francisco company that wasn’t pricy at all, otherwise, all the costs would be way higher than my profit.