My wife and I both have substantial debt. She is finished with school and working in a PSLF-qualified position. I am finishing up (should be done this academic year, probably graduate in September 15). We would like to go in IBR so that she is making PSLF-eligible payments, and we file our taxes jointly. When we first contacted her loan servicer (MOHELA) they told us that my loans would count toward the IBR calculation, even though I’m not currently in repayment. Then they rejected our application, and we later learned this was because they decided that my loans did not count, and that as a result we don’t have a partial financial hardship. I spoke to the Ombudsman, who told me that my loans should definitely count,  but MOHELA is sticking to their position.

My question is, is there any document or clearly stated rule that governs situations like this? It seems as though the question should hinge on the definition of “eligible debt” per the statutes governing student loans, but I can’t find a definition that speaks to this situation.