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heynice
Joined: 15 Jan 2008
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 Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject: Put those student loans on hold |
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I noticed while filing taxes (first time filing while abroad so forgive me if I'm repeating anything)... Since form 2555 ends up deducting all your income made in Korea, your adjusted gross income will be next to nothing (pending you have no other major income sources in America).
If you have federal student loans in repayment, you can defer those by qualifying under economic hardship status. The form asks if 1/12 of your AGI (which should be 0) is less than the poverty line.
This will give you time to accumulate more money and wait until the won/dollar rate becomes more favorable to paying back student loans.
Hope this helps... |
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tired of LA
Joined: 06 Nov 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:22 pm Post subject: Re: Put those student loans on hold |
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| heynice wrote: |
I noticed while filing taxes (first time filing while abroad so forgive me if I'm repeating anything)... Since form 2555 ends up deducting all your income made in Korea, your adjusted gross income will be next to nothing (pending you have no other major income sources in America).
If you have federal student loans in repayment, you can defer those by qualifying under economic hardship status. The form asks if 1/12 of your AGI (which should be 0) is less than the poverty line.
This will give you time to accumulate more money and wait until the won/dollar rate becomes more favorable to paying back student loans.
Hope this helps... |
Just make sure you think its worth it, since your interest accumulates even if you defer. And if you don't pay off the interest, it gets capitalized. If the won doesn't improve enough, you will be SOL. |
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eIn07912
Joined: 06 Dec 2008
Location: seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:23 pm Post subject: Re: Put those student loans on hold |
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| heynice wrote: |
I noticed while filing taxes (first time filing while abroad so forgive me if I'm repeating anything)... Since form 2555 ends up deducting all your income made in Korea, your adjusted gross income will be next to nothing (pending you have no other major income sources in America).
If you have federal student loans in repayment, you can defer those by qualifying under economic hardship status. The form asks if 1/12 of your AGI (which should be 0) is less than the poverty line.
This will give you time to accumulate more money and wait until the won/dollar rate becomes more favorable to paying back student loans.
Hope this helps... |
yeah, i got a forbearance for economic hardship for 15 or 16 months i think. also, if ur net salary converts to less than 1,300USD, theres no interest for ur economic hardship era (the 15 or 16 months) too bad i cleared just over that. because they will make u provide proof. |
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heynice
Joined: 15 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:28 pm Post subject: Re: Put those student loans on hold |
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| tired of LA wrote: |
Just make sure you think its worth it, since your interest accumulates even if you defer. And if you don't pay off the interest, it gets capitalized. If the won doesn't improve enough, you will be SOL. |
Defer means that the government takes care of the subsidized interest, I think you might be mixing it up with forbearance. |
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tired of LA
Joined: 06 Nov 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:36 pm Post subject: Re: Put those student loans on hold |
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| heynice wrote: |
| tired of LA wrote: |
Just make sure you think its worth it, since your interest accumulates even if you defer. And if you don't pay off the interest, it gets capitalized. If the won doesn't improve enough, you will be SOL. |
Defer means that the government takes care of the subsidized interest, I think you might be mixing it up with forbearance. |
Depends on the type of loan you got. The government only pays the interest if you got a subsidized loan. |
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WendyRose
Joined: 10 Dec 2008
Location: hanam-si, seoul
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| Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 10:00 pm Post subject: |
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^ exactly.
Deferring is HORRIBLE advice if you are actually able to pay it back and your loans aren't subsidized... |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:08 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Just make sure you think its worth it, since your interest accumulates even if you defer. |
| Quote: |
| Deferring is HORRIBLE advice if you are actually able to pay it back and your loans aren't subsidized... |
It's not that cut and dry. After all, it's a numbers game. If your interest rate is 10% and the Won loses more than 10% of its value, then it is a good idea. |
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losing_touch
Joined: 26 Jun 2008
Location: Ulsan - I think!
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:47 am Post subject: |
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I did it myself. I didn't need to worry about all of that tax stuff. My income alone was enough to qualify for the economic hardship deferment. I simply mailed them my pay stubs. No problems. It was done in no time. Since my loans are mostly subsidized, I am not accruing interest. The small portion that is gaining interest can be paid quarterly. Again, no problems. The credit cards are almost paid off. Then, I can make lump sum payments on the loans as I please while in deferment.  Definitely do the math! |
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