How to Recertify for Income-Driven Repayment: Tips for Filling Out Your Recertification Form Each Year

Editor's note: On Friday, March 1, 2024, the Department of Education decided to abruptly delay recertification of Income Driven Repayment (IDR) for borrowers until “no earlier than late September 2024.” Learn more.

Recertification time for federal student loan borrowers on an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan can stir up some anxiety. Many borrowers don't know how to recertify an income-driven repayment plan. So, it's common to worry about whether your payment will increase or to not understand what your payment is even based off of. Additionally, major milestones, like getting married or having children, can significantly impact your payment.

This guide will break down frequently asked questions and help you feel more confident when you complete this reporting requirement.

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How to recertify income-driven repayment: Tips for filling out your IDR Plan Request Form

First things first, let’s cover some basics, which may cover a lot of questions for single borrowers:

1. When to recertify for income-driven repayment

You can submit an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan request form at any time. However, you’re only required to submit updated information once per year on your IDR anniversary date. If your income has dropped, for example, this would be a great time to consider completing a new application. This will immediately recalculate your monthly payment amount because your payment is no longer reflective of your current income.

Take note of the different application purposes and apply accordingly:

• New Applicants: You're not currently on an income-driven plan and want to apply.
• Returning IDR Applicants: You want to submit annual recertification of your income.
• Recalculate my monthly payment: Your income or family size has changed. You can request to recalculate your IDR payment at any time to reduce your current monthly payment.
• Switch my current plan to a new plan: You're currently enrolled in an IDR plan but would like to switch to a different one.

2. How your adjusted gross income factors into your IDR plan

The IDR Plan Request form will always link back (or try to link back) to your most recent federal income tax return to collect your adjusted gross income. If the IRS data retrieval tool does not successfully link to your last tax return, it could be because:

• Your name and/or address was not exactly how it appeared on your last tax return (e.g., putting “Sam” for your first name if your return said “Samantha”).
• The IRS website might be offline or experiencing some other technical issues.
• If you filed your taxes electronically within the last three weeks or via postal mail within the last 11 weeks, your tax information might not be available yet.
• Your federal tax return indicated an outstanding balance owed, which may result in a delay in processing.

You're required to submit alternative documentation of your income (e.g. a paystub), if your tax return doesn't link through. The same applies if you answer “Yes” to the question about whether your income has significantly decreased (e.g. you lost your job or experienced a drop in income) since you filed your last income tax return.

The IDR Plan Request application will ask you to “Estimate Your Payments” by requiring you to enter your AGI. This is somewhat arbitrary in the sense that they don't use this information to calculate your payment. Instead, they use the IRS data retrieval tool information or the alternative documentation you submit.

The projected cost and payment over time is based off of a 5% growth rate in your income year over year. So, it’s not necessarily reflective of what you can totally expect. Schedule a consultation here to get your customized student loan plan.

3. How to reduce your AGI

Because your payment is based off of AGI, you can lower AGI by saving in your pretax accounts. This includes a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement account, individual retirement account or health savings account. The maximum allowed in your employer retirement plan is $19,500 for the year 2021. Contributing to pretax accounts reduces your AGI, which reduces your student loan payments while building your long-term wealth.

FAQs about how to recertify an income-driven repayment plan

How does “family size” factor into my payment calculation?

Family size matters for your IDR plan because it’s part of your federal student loan repayment calculation. Your payment is based on discretionary income, which factors in the poverty line for your household size. You count as one household member. If you have a spouse, you have a household size of two. The application will automatically count you (and your spouse, if applicable).

The application will ask how many dependent children you have. However, this is different from a dependent child for tax purposes. This question is pretty black and white. “How many children, including unborn children, are in your family and receive more than half of their support from you?”

Then, it'll ask you about other dependents. “How many other people, excluding your spouse and children, live with you, and receive more than half of their support from you?” Remember, this question may not reflect who you claim from a tax perspective, and that’s okay.

What if I lie on the application about my family size or dependents to reduce my payment?

Don’t lie. Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or misrepresentation on this form can be subject to penalties. This may include fines, imprisonment or both.

What changes if I got married this year but we haven’t filed taxes together yet?

Under marital status, you'll need to disclose that you’re married (unless you’re not legally). If you indicate you're married, you'll get the poverty line deduction for a two-person household size.

The next question will be: “If placed on the ICR plan, do you want to repay your Direct Loans jointly with your spouse?” If you want your spouse’s income to be included in your payment calculation, say yes to this income-contingent repayment question. If not, say no. Note: The Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) plan counts joint income regardless.

It will then use the IRS data retrieval tool to link back to your most recently filed tax return, which should be for a single filer.

The next questions will trigger whether or not to ask for your new spouse’s income information to be included in your payment calculation. If you didn't have access to your spouse’s last tax return since you weren’t married yet, select “no”. The application will continue to be based off of just your own income (your last tax return as a single filer) for the next recertification period.

You may get a response on the application like this if you said you did have access to your spouse’s information:

“Based on your response to this question, your spouse will be required to co-sign your application and provide documentation of his or her income. This income documentation will only be used by your loan servicer while you are being considered for or are repaying your loans under the REPAYE plan.”

This response is normal. Your spouse will have to sign off on the application by creating an FSA ID and password, if they don’t have one already. They might also need to provide income information if required by your plan (e.g. REPAYE).

What if both my spouse and I have federal student loan debt?

If you both have federal student loan debt, your payment will affect each other still. Filing taxes jointly will look at your debt load as household debt and a household monthly payment calculation. It will proportionally split that household payment between you two. Therefore, the spouse with more debt will have the larger payment.

If you both have federal student loan debt and file taxes separately, it will continue to keep your payments off of your own income and not look at your debt as a household.

What if my last filed tax return was filed jointly with my spouse?

Your payment will be based off of that joint AGI even if you want to exclude your spouse's income. This is the case unless you're separated from your spouse and unable to access their income information.

You can submit alternative documentation if your income has decreased since the last tax return by answering the question, “Has your income significantly decreased since you filed your last federal income tax return? For example, have you lost your job or experienced a drop in income?” It will still require alternative documentation from your spouse, however.

If you don’t want your spouse's income factored into your payment, you will have to file taxes separately on your next tax filing.

How long does a payment based off of this recertification stay the same?

Your payment based off of your recertification stays the same for 12 months. You'll be notified by your servicer to submit recertification again a month or two out from your annual deadline. Completing the annual recertification early does not change your payment early, and your new payment won't apply until your previous payment schedule ends.

What happens if I don’t recertify?

If you don’t recertify, your payment will switch to the 10-Year Standard Repayment Plan causing your payment to more than likely go up. Your unpaid interest may be capitalized, meaning it will be added to the principal balance of your loans. If you try to re-enter your IDR plan and are no longer eligible — you no longer have a partial financial hardship — you'll have to stay on the 10-year repayment period plan, switch to one of the longer-term Standard or Graduated plans, or switch to REPAYE.

Knowing how to recertify your income-driven repayment plan puts you in the driver seat

Recertification certainly adds to the high-maintenance component of federal student loans. But you can stay on top of your IDR plan by feeling more confident in the questions being asked and knowing what responses trigger follow-up questions.

If you’re unsure of the best student loan repayment strategy for you and your family or need help figuring out how to recertify your income-driven repayment plan, the team at Student Loan Planner® would love to help you. We’ll review your whole student loan situation to help create the best plan for paying your student loans off or having your debt forgiven.