Lender and Bonus disclosure
THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.
Earnest: $1,000 for $100K or more, $200 for $50K to $99.999.99. For Earnest, if you refinance $100,000 or more through this site, $500 of the $1,000 cash bonus is provided directly by Student Loan Planner. Rate range above includes optional 0.25% Auto Pay discount.
Earnest Bonus Offer Disclosure:
Terms and conditions apply. To qualify for this Earnest Bonus offer: 1) you must not currently be an Earnest client, or have received the bonus in the past, 2) you must submit a completed student loan refinancing application through the designated Student Loan Planner® link; 3) you must provide a valid email address and a valid checking account number during the application process; and 4) your loan must be fully disbursed.
You will receive a $1,000 bonus if you refinance $100,000 or more, or a $200 bonus if you refinance an amount from $50,000 to $99,999.99. For the $1,000 Welcome Bonus offer, $500 will be paid directly by Student Loan Planner® via Giftly. Earnest will automatically transmit $500 to your checking account after the final disbursement. For the $200 Welcome Bonus offer, Earnest will automatically transmit the $200 bonus to your checking account after the final disbursement. There is a limit of one bonus per borrower. This offer is not valid for current Earnest clients who refinance their existing Earnest loans, clients who have previously received a bonus, or with any other bonus offers received from Earnest via this or any other channel. Bonus cannot be issued to residents in KY, MA, or MI.
Interest Rate Disclosure
Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 5.44% APR to 9.99% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 6.24% APR to 9.99% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan refinance loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. The maximum rate for your loan is 8.95% if your loan term is 10 years or less. For loan terms of more than 10 years to 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 9.95%. For loan terms over 15 years, the interest rate will never exceed 11.95%. Please note, we are not able to offer variable rate loans in AK, IL, MN, NH, OH, TN, and TX. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account.
Auto Pay Discount Disclosure
You can take advantage of the Auto Pay interest rate reduction by setting up and maintaining active and automatic ACH withdrawal of your loan payment. The interest rate reduction for Auto Pay will be available only while your loan is enrolled in Auto Pay. Interest rate incentives for utilizing Auto Pay may not be combined with certain private student loan repayment programs that also offer an interest rate reduction. For multi-party loans, only one party may enroll in Auto Pay.
Skip a Payment Disclosure
Earnest clients may skip one payment every 12 months. Your first request to skip a payment can be made once you’ve made at least 6 months of consecutive on-time payments, and your loan is in good standing. The interest accrued during the skipped month will result in an increase in your remaining minimum payment. The final payoff date on your loan will be extended by the length of the skipped payment periods. Please be aware that a skipped payment does count toward the forbearance limits. Please note that skipping a payment is not guaranteed and is at Earnest’s discretion. Your monthly payment and total loan cost may increase as a result of postponing your payment and extending your term.
Student Loan Refinancing Loan Cost Examples
These examples provide estimates based on payments beginning immediately upon loan disbursement. Variable APR: A $10,000 loan with a 20-year term (240 monthly payments of $72) and a 5.89% APR would result in a total estimated payment amount of $17,042.39. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed APR: A $10,000 loan with a 20-year term (240 monthly payments of $72) and a 6.04% APR would result in a total estimated payment amount of $17,249.77. Your actual repayment terms may vary.Terms and Conditions apply. Visit https://www.earnest. com/terms-of-service, e-mail us at hello@earnest.com, or call 888-601-2801 for more information on our student loan refinance product.
Student Loan Origination Loan Cost Examples
These examples provide estimates based on the Deferred Repayment option, meaning you make no payments while enrolled in school and during the separation period of 9 billing periods thereafter. Variable APR: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $157.12) and an 11.69% APR would result in a total estimated payment amount of $21,290.40. For a variable loan, after your starting rate is set, your rate will then vary with the market. Fixed APR: A $10,000 loan with a 15-year term (180 monthly payments of $173.51) and an 13.03% APR would result in a total estimated payment amount of $22,827.79. Your actual repayment terms may vary.
Earnest Loans are made by Earnest Operations LLC or One American Bank, Member FDIC. Earnest Operations LLC, NMLS #1204917. 535 Mission St., Suite 1663, San Francisco, CA 94105. California Financing Law License 6054788. Visit earnest.com/licenses for a full list of licensed states. For California residents (Student Loan Refinance Only): Loans will be arranged or made pursuant to a California Financing Law License.
One American Bank, 515 S. Minnesota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Earnest loans are serviced by Earnest Operations LLC with support from Navient Solutions LLC (NMLS #212430). One American Bank and Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America.
© 2021 Earnest LLC. All rights reserved.
Student Loan Planner® Bonus Disclosure:
Upon disbursement of a qualifying loan, the borrower must notify Student Loan Planner® that a qualifying loan was refinanced through the site, as the lender does not share the names or contact information of borrowers. Borrowers must complete the Refinance Bonus Request form to claim a bonus offer. Student Loan Planner® will confirm loan eligibility and, upon confirmation of a qualifying refinance, will send via email a $500 e-gift card within 14 business days following the last day of the month in which the qualifying loan was confirmed eligible by Student Loan Planner®. If a borrower does not claim the Student Loan Planner® bonus within six months of the loan disbursement, the borrower forfeits their right to claim said bonus. The bonus amount will depend on the total loan amount disbursed. This offer is not valid for borrowers who have previously received a bonus from Student Loan Planner®.
I have a question regarding the PAYE payment cap for a direct consolidation loan. You mention that even if your income increases (i.e. resident salary increases to attending salary), the payment will be capped at the standard 10yr. In tip #23 you mention that the standard 10yr payment goes away if loans are consolidated, and the replacement “Standard Repayment Plan for consolidation loans” doesn’t qualify for PSLF – does this mean that after losing the partial financial hardship status, the new capped payment wouldn’t count toward PSLF?
I currently have direct loans and was planning for direct loan consolidation to bypass the grace period and start PAYE/PSLF early, but I don’t want to pursue this if the consolidation process will prohibit me from making qualified PSLF payments under the PAYE plan once an income increase pushes me above what would be the standard repayment amount.
Thanks!
Hey Mike! Here is what our consultant Meagan has to say:
This might be a helpful article. But the consolidation does not change the 10-yr standard payment cap, so you could proceed with that to forgo the grace period. Here’s the technical definition from StudentAid.gov:
“Partial financial hardship is an eligibility requirement under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) and Pay As You Earn Repayment (PAYE) plans. It is a circumstance in which the annual amount due on your eligible loans, as calculated under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, exceeds 15 percent (for IBR) or 10 percent (for Pay As You Earn) of the difference between your adjusted gross income (AGI) and 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size in the state where you live.”
You must have a partial financial hardship to be accepted into PAYE or IBR initially, but you can’t be “kicked off” the plan if your income gets to a point where you no longer have a partial financial hardship later on.
What would happen is your payment would cap-out or stop at that Standard 10-year amount, and that’ll be your payment going forward unless income decreases in the future.
Thanks much for this article! A few clarification questions.
1) If I am both an employee (w2, nonprofit, qualify for PSLF at 30 hrs/wk) and self employed contract (1099) and want to lower my AGI as much as possible, can I max out a traditional IRA, SEP IRA (amount based in my self employed side gig), and 403B? ( I also max my HSA). I currently have a ROTH and am considering converting to a traditional IRA if it helps lower my AGI. I max out my Roth, 403B and SEP IRA.
2) For the student loan interest deduction is the $85,000 limit pre or post tax?
* my total income is below $125000
Hi Bria, here is what our consultant Molly has to say: For your first questions, it’s best to check with a tax pro. Maxing out PRE-tax retirement accounts lowers your AGI, so it’s worth it to switch your contributions from a Roth IRA to a Traditional IRA from a student loan perspective. Don’t convert your current Roth IRA, just open a Traditional IRA and start maxing that out.
For your second question, the phaseout if you are filing your taxes “single” is $70,000-$85,000 as of 2020, and $140,000-$170,000 for “married filing jointly.” The Student Loan Interest Deduction is based on your MAGI or Modified Adjusted Gross Income, which is typically close to your Adjusted Gross Income. Your AGI is a pre-tax number, generally close to your gross income minus your pre-tax retirement contributions.