Help! Spouse’s (no longer working) large repayment based off my income

[Sharks1285]

Hi All. Hoping to get some advice as I don’t know where to go for help.

In April 2025, Wife and I filed taxes jointly for 2024. Wife graduated school and began working Oct 2025.

She had to create her online loan repayment account in Nov/Dec. The first question they asked - how’d you file 2024 taxes (and answered jointly).

Her monthly payment is $1,200 because apparently they used MY rollercoaster self employed income - not hers - because this was calculated before she started working. Income was great 2025 but it was mostly spent aka on a very tight budget now that sales are slow.

Job was miserable so she resigned Dec 2025

Now it seems we are stuck paying $1,200 off our single household income and she may not be working for a while (health reasons which have since appeared). I’m in sales and don’t have a steady paycheck - could be weeks or months without anything or even just a few thousand. So it’s feast or famine. And if finances remain the same we are quickly heading towards financial ruin.

How can I detangle the amount SHE owes monthly from MY income so it’s only based off hers? Ideas (and hoping to get feedback, other ideas etc)

• If I file taxes ASAP (first week Feb) and we file separately, I understand we may owe more in taxes but then she could apply for a recalculation using that new 1040?
• Assume this would mean zero income aka zero repayment until she starts working?
• Does this recalculation qualify as a deferral and she wouldn’t qualify for the 20-25 year loan forgiveness (understand if you don’t miss one payment balance gets wiped)?

Our CPA isn’t very helpful, just emphasizes he’s not a student loan expert - Don’t know where to go for help.

Thank you in advance!

[JoeRockhead]

@Sharks1285 here's my take:

The high payment happened because you filed Married Filing Jointly. Income driven student loan plans legally use household income when filing jointly.

The main solution is filing Married Filing Separately (MFS). Once you do that, her payment can be recalculated using only her income. In the meantime:

• Since she currently has $0 income, her payment on an IDR plan (SAVE/PAYE/IBR) should drop to $0.

• This recalculation is not a deferment or forbearance. $0 IDR payments still count toward the 20 to 25 year forgiveness clock.

• You don’t have to wait until next year, she can request an immediate income recertification due to job loss/health changes.

• Do not stop paying without talking to the servicer. Missing payments can obviously cause problems.

• Filing separately may increase taxes, but that’s usually far better than an unaffordable $1,200 monthly payment.

In fairness, a CPA won't help much here. student loan servicers or a student loan advisor are better resources. Avoid “debt relief” companies.

Bottom line: File MFS, request income recertification now, keep the loan in an IDR plan, and the payment should drop to something manageable (possibly $0).

Let us know how it works out.