Credit requirements for a Parent PLUS Loan
For five years before your credit is pulled: You can't have a loan default, a discharge of debts in bankruptcy, foreclosure, repossession, tax lien, wage garnishment, or a write-off of a federal student aid debt.
Does my debt-to-income ratio, credit score, or employment status count against me when I apply for a PLUS loan? These factors aren't taken into account when credit history is reviewed. A lack of credit is not considered adverse credit. write-off of federal student aid debt.
Yes. Parent PLUS loans are solely the legal responsibility of the parent, so of course they are based on their income. If you double consolidate you would make the loan eligible for less expensive repayment plans than ICR.
How to Use the Double Consolidation Loophole: The key to using the double consolidation loophole is to consolidate each of your Parent PLUS Loans twice. In this scenario, a borrower can have as few as two Parent PLUS Loans.
PLUS loans are not based on a family's income or assets and parents can borrow up to the total cost of education, minus any financial aid the student will receive. The student must be enrolled at least half time and be making satisfactory academic progress (Eligibility & Academic Standards).
The $100,000 Loophole.
With a larger below-market loan, the $100,000 loophole can save you from unwanted tax results. To qualify for this loophole, all outstanding loans between you and the borrower must aggregate to $100,000 or less.
To be eligible for a Direct PLUS Loan for parents, you must be a biological or adoptive parent (or in some cases a stepparent), not have an adverse credit history, and meet the general eligibility requirements for federal student aid (which the child must meet as well).
Discretionary income is the amount of income a household or individual has to invest, save, or spend after taxes and necessities, are paid. (Necessities include mortgages, rent payments, utilities, student loans, and credit card debt.)
Parent PLUS loans can potentially be forgiven after 10 years under specific conditions, such as through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program after consolidation into a direct consolidation loan. Parent borrowers must enroll in the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan to qualify for PSLF.
What Are Some Reasons to Avoid PLUS Loans? First, PLUS loans have no automatic grace period. Then there's the fact they aren't eligible for most IDR plans. Then, borrowing too much is easy to do, and finally, they're nearly impossible to get out of, even in bankruptcy.
Parent PLUS Loans and Credit History
Unlike some other borrowing situations, applying for PLUS loans does not consider debt-to-income ratios, credit scores or employment status. The most essential factor is not having an adverse credit history.
But during the Direct PLUS Loan Application process, you'll go through a credit check to confirm one specific requirement: not having an adverse credit history. a recent bankruptcy discharge, tax lien, wage garnishment, or foreclosure.
PLUS loans don't require good credit, making them an ideal option for low-credit borrowers. However, you can't have an adverse credit history, such as bankruptcies or loan defaults within the past five years.
What happens to my parent's PLUS loan if my parent dies or if I die? Your parent's PLUS loan will be discharged if your parent dies or if you (the student on whose behalf your parent obtained the loan) die.
The Parent PLUS loan application is based on the borrower's credit history; no loan officer will look at your income or other debt or otherwise evaluate whether you can afford to make the payments. It is your responsibility to make sure you aren't borrowing more than you can afford to pay back.
One simple strategy for budgeting is following the so-called 50/30/20 rule, which involves putting roughly half (or less) of one's after-tax income towards necessities, 30% (or less) toward discretionary spending and the remaining 20% (or more) into either savings or paying off debt.
income that is received in different amounts at different times; examples include birthday money, tips, bonuses, and interest on savings.
The Income-Contingent Repayment Plan is the only income-driven repayment plan available to parent PLUS borrowers, and to repay your parent PLUS loans under the Income-Contingent Repayment Plan, you must first consolidate the loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
Unlike all other federal student loans, there are no explicit borrowing limits for parent PLUS loans. Parents may borrow up to the full cost of attendance, which is determined by the institution, not the government, and includes books, travel and living expenses.
How long does processing take? Due to the value of PLUS applications at peak times (particularly summer and the start of the Fall term), PLUS loans can take 4 weeks for processing and for the loan to be posted on the student's financial aid summary.
If you lend money to a relative or friend with the understanding the relative or friend may not repay it, you must consider it as a gift and not as a loan, and you may not deduct it as a bad debt.
A loan between family members, or even friends, isn't help—it's a trap for both parties. Whenever you loan money to a friend or family member, you've become their creditor. You're now a lender, and they're a borrower.
On the borrower's side, there are typically no tax implications. The borrower doesn't typically need to report the loan and won't pay any income tax on it. In some cases, the borrower may get a tax perk from borrowing money from family.