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Student Loans

Q&A: Paying a grandchild’s student loans

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Dear Liz: Regarding the grandparent who would like to pay off a grandchild’s student loans.

You wrote that paying off the loans would be considered a gift. However, if the grandparent paid the funds to the institution that originated the student loan, would it then not be a gift? This would exempt the grandparent from filing the gift tax return.

Answer: You may be thinking of the unlimited exception for a family member’s medical expenses or education. Unfortunately, payments made to a student lender aren’t included in this exception.

Normally, any gift that’s larger than the annual gift exclusion limit — which is currently $17,000 per recipient — would require filing a gift tax return. Gift taxes aren’t due, however, until the amount given away over the annual limits exceeds the lifetime gift and estate exemption limit (which is currently $12.92 million). Clearly, someone has to be quite wealthy, and quite generous, before gift taxes are a concern.

But even the necessity to file a gift tax return can be avoided for larger gifts if you’re paying someone else’s education or medical expenses. The unlimited exception for these expenses, however, applies only to tuition payments made directly to the educational institution and payments for medical care made directly to a healthcare provider. Payments to other parties, such as lenders or insurance companies, aren’t included in this exception.

Q&A: Student loan payoff and gift taxes

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Dear Liz: I adopted my granddaughter when she was 2. She has a number of student loans. Do I have the right to pay off her loans as her parent without tax consequences to her or to me?

Answer: Paying off someone’s student loans would be considered a gift. You may have to file a gift tax return, but you’re extremely unlikely to owe gift taxes.

The IRS requires you to file a gift tax return if you give any individual more than a certain amount in a year. (The 2023 annual exemption limit is $17,000.) You don’t owe gift taxes until the amount you give away above this annual limit exceeds the lifetime limit (which is 2023 is $12.92 million).

Your relationship doesn’t matter unless the recipient is your spouse. (You can give an unlimited amount to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen without gift tax consequences.)

Q&A: Should you pay down debt with extra cash? It may not be the best plan during a pandemic

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Dear Liz: I’m a teacher on an income-based repayment plan for my federal student loans. I don’t qualify for any loan forgiveness programs for teachers because I teach in an affluent area. Right now, interest and payments on federal education loans have been suspended because of the pandemic.

I’m trying to decide what to do when payments have to restart. Should I pay down a chunk of the loans from the money that accumulated in my savings from not having to make loan payments since April? Or pick back up where I left off with making near-double payments to get down the principal (slowly) and pay off loans in another five to six years? Or only make the minimum income-based payments while waiting to see if the new administration offers more comprehensive loan forgiveness for teachers? Thank you for any insights.

Answer: Although you may not qualify for loan forgiveness through programs meant to help underserved communities, you can still qualify for the federal public service loan forgiveness program. This program erases debt for schoolteachers and other public servants after they’ve made 120 qualifying payments toward their federal student loans.

You can learn more about this program at the U.S. Department of Education site. Follow the rules carefully because many people who thought they were on track to get forgiveness have discovered otherwise.

If you’re eligible, consider making only the minimum payments on your loans so that the maximum amount is forgiven. Even if you’re not eligible for forgiveness, though, you don’t necessarily want to rush to pay off this relatively low-rate, tax-deductible debt.

You should be on track with your retirement savings, have paid off all other, higher-rate debt and have a substantial emergency fund before you make extra payments on education debt (or a mortgage, for that matter). “Substantial” means having three to six months’ worth of expenses saved. If your job is anything less than rock solid, you may want to set aside even more.

Keep in mind that the money you send to your lenders is gone for good; you can’t get it back should you need it later.

Q&A: Push lenders for student loan help

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Dear Liz: I saw your previous column about the federal student loan payments being suspended by the CARES Act until Sept. 30, with interest being waived. I reached out to my loan servicer about my loans and was told that while they are federal loans, they were made before 2010 and are not covered by the relief bill.

Answer: Your experience is an excellent example of why loan servicers have attracted so much criticism in recent years for misleading borrowers about their options.

You should have been told that although your Family Federal Education Loan (FFEL) program loans don’t qualify, you can consolidate your loans through the U.S. Department of Education’s direct loan program and the consolidation would qualify for relief. You can get more information at StudentAid.gov.

Q&A: What to do after coronavirus takes away your job

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Dear Liz: I’m a single mom who just lost my job because of COVID-19. I have a mortgage, a car payment, credit card debt and a child who is headed to college in the fall. What do I do? I am very scared.

Answer: This is a very scary time. Your job now is to identify and use all the resources that may help you. You’ll need to be patient and persistent because millions of people are in the same boat.

Your first task could be among the hardest: applying for unemployment benefits. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, signed into law on March 27, expanded unemployment relief to include the self-employed (including contract and gig workers), people who work part time, and those whose hours were reduced because of the pandemic.

The act also adds $600 a week to the benefit amount that states offer, a supplement scheduled to last four months, and extends benefits for eligible workers until Dec. 31. In normal times, benefits end after 26 weeks.

The expanded benefits, plus an unprecedented number of job losses, have overwhelmed state unemployment offices. If possible, apply online with your state’s labor department rather than over the phone or in person. You’ll be sent important follow-up information; to avoid delays in starting your checks, carefully read that information and respond to any requests.

Unemployment benefits vary enormously by state. You may get enough to sustain you if you cut unnecessary expenses — or you may not. If you come up short, you have other options.

If your mortgage is federally backed — and most are — the CARES Act gives you a right to forbearance for up to 12 months. There’s also a moratorium on foreclosures and foreclosure-related evictions for these mortgages.

Forbearance means you don’t have to make payments, although interest will typically still accrue. Federally backed mortgages include loans owned by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and various federal agencies.

If you’re not sure whether your mortgage is federally backed, call your loan servicer — the company that takes your mortgage payments — and ask. Even if your loan is not federally backed, you may be eligible for some kind of relief. Explain your circumstances and ask what help is available.

Many other lenders, including credit card issuers, offer forbearance options as well. Some have information and application forms on their websites while others require you to call the customer service number to request help. Again, be prepared for long hold times.

You also can ask for more financial aid from your child’s college based on your changed circumstances. Check first to see if the financial aid office has an online form you can use or has outlined its preferred procedure for appealing a financial aid offer.

You may be tempted to put off asking for help, hoping that you will land another job before your household is on fumes. It would be more prudent, though, to assume you could be out of work for many months. Not only is unemployment skyrocketing, but a vaccine also could be a year or more away, indicating the economic disruptions likely will continue.

There’s one other part of the CARES Act that could help you: the “coronavirus hardship withdrawal.” The new law allows you to withdraw up to $100,000 from your 401(k) or IRA without penalty.
The withdrawal is taxed, but you can effectively spread the tax bill over three years. If you can repay the money within three years, you also can amend your tax returns and get a refund of those taxes.

Taking the money and not repaying it could have a devastating effect on your future retirement, but if you’ve run out of other options, a retirement plan withdrawal could help keep you afloat.

Q&A: How to figure out if your student loan qualifies for coronavirus relief

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Dear Liz: I’m confused about what help is being offered to people with student loans. At first I heard interest was waived but payments had to be made. Then supposedly the stimulus package made payments optional. Is there something I have to do to get relief or is it automatic?

Answer: If your student loans are held by the federal government, relief should be automatic. You won’t have to make a payment until after Sept. 30, and interest will be waived during that time. In addition, federal collection efforts on defaulted student loans have been paused.

These provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act apply to federal student loans made through the direct loan program, including undergraduate, graduate and parent loans. You can log on to studentaid.gov to see if your loan qualifies.

If you have Perkins loans or Federal Family Education loans that don’t qualify, you can consolidate those loans into a direct consolidation loan, which would qualify. The provisions also don’t apply to private student loans, although your lender may offer other hardship options.