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My household income is about $230,000. I have $50,000 in student loan debt and my wife has $20,000. Would my wife be a good candidate for student loan forgiveness? She makes about $25,000 per year. Are there any options for my debt? We both have federal loans.

Let’s start out by looking at student loan forgiveness for your wife. By herself, your wife is an excellent candidate for income-driven student loan forgiveness. That means she would make payments under an income-driven plan for 20-25 years and the remaining balance would be forgiven.

However, how you file your taxes will determine whether only her income is considered or if your total household income is considered. If you file as “married filing jointly” your household income will be considered when determining the income-driven monthly payment. If you file as “married filing separately” then her income alone will be considered. Married filing separately doesn’t qualify for the same tax incentives as “married filing jointly” so be sure to talk with a tax preparer or accountant about which option makes the most sense for your financial situation.

What about the options for your student loan debt? Given your income of $205,000 a year or so $50,000 in student loan debt should be very maneagable. It gives you a debt-to-income ratio of 0.25:1 which is excellent. Your ideal loan options will depend on your personal goals.

Without knowing the specifics of your financial situation I can’t know for certain but it’s unlikely you will have any loan balance to be forgiven after 20-25 years of income-driven payments. You can use the Repayment Estimator on the Federal Student Aid (FSA) website to see how much interest you pay under different repayment plans and how long your repayment term is.

If you’re looking to get out of debt quickly you may be a good candidate for student loan refinancing. I don’t know about other debts such as a mortgage, car, etc but your student loan debt-to-income ratio is excellent and you have high personal income. If you also have an excellent credit score you have a lot of the characteristics refinancing companies are looking for.

Refinancing is a good option if your current interest rate is high and you can significantly lower it. For example I refinanced my federal loans from their 6.67% interest rate to a fixed rate of 3.37% this move will save me nearly $20,000 over the life of my loans. When you refinance your student loans your loans become private loans and lose their federal student loan benefits.

I’ve written a lot about refinancing so check out these posts if you’re considering it:

How to Choose the Student Loan Benefits You Need

Is Refinancing Right for You?

How to Find the Best Refinancing Rates Fast

A higher monthly payment will also help you pay less interest. If you have flexibility in your household budget you can make extra monthly payments, making sure to instruct your loan servicer to direct them to principal. You can also choose a more aggressive repayment plan so your required monthly payment will be higher. If you want to get out of debt fast, paying aggressively on your student loans will minimize the interest you’ll pay and save you money.