Hi Heather,

First, thank you for all that you do. This site is wonderful, and extremely helpful.

Last January, I entered the IBR program and used only my income (married filing separately) on the Alternative Documentation of Income form. In March I filed my 2011 tax return jointly with my wife, as I was not in IBR at any time during 2011.

Now, with 2012 having drawn to a close, I was able to re-evaluate my IBR status. We can pay more per month, and I would prefer to make some meaningful progress on the repayment of my loans. I do not qualify for the 10 year public interest forgiveness, nor do I expect my income to be low for very long. In hind sight, I probably should have enrolled in IBR under the married filing jointly category off the bat, making an increased monthly payment.

I have recently filed a new Alternative Documentation of Income form with Direct Loans, and within the next few weeks should be processed for an increased monthly repayment amount, considering both my wife’s income, and my own.

My question relates to how I should go about filing my 2012 tax return. Am I obligated to actually file separately from my wife, or is there any way to file jointly with her for tax year 2012? The payments I made in 2012 were all under IBR considering only my individual income. Is there any penalty from my lender if I were to go ahead and file jointly, despite the fact that I paid a reduced monthly amount based solely off my income alone?

In sum, I am seeking any way that I can file jointly for 2012.

Thank you!

Hi Heather,

I am wondering something very similar to the original poster. I have consolidated, am on IBR, and have had my payments calculated under the assumption that I am married filing separately.

What would happen if, after making a year of payments under this arrangement, I go ahead and file jointly? Am I even able to do this? Will the federal loan servicer want retro payments of the difference? Or will my new payments simply reflect this higher rate?

Thanks!!

” Am I obligated to actually file separately from my wife, or is there any way to file jointly with her for tax year 2012? The payments I made in 2012 were all under IBR considering only my individual income. Is there any penalty from my lender if I were to go ahead and file jointly, despite the fact that I paid a reduced monthly amount based solely off my income alone?”

I have talked about this issue with the folks at Direct Loans many times, namely: what happens if my IBR certification ends up being not true?  Every single time, they have told me: neither the Department of Education nor the IBR plan has any mechanism for enforcing penalties or back payments.  All they can do is recalculate for next year. 

Maybe that’s not the correct legal answer, but it’s what Dept. of Ed. keeps telling me…