I just graduated, fiancee is 3rd year - Marry now??

[bomgd3]

[Edit] We have come to a decision - thanks everyone!

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[Stroganoff]

I think so? You can also shave off up to $2500 each in student loan interest deduction (for both you and your spouse independently) if you voluntarily pay off some interest with your PGY income. And $5500 each for traditional IRA contributions (but still recommend Roth). Bottom line, I think your $2081.65 figure is minimum savings.

...

Which might go towards rings/ceremony/reception/honeymoon anyway, so it all evens out.

 

[sazerac]

If you are married, you should be able to take a couple thousand dollar tax CREDIT against her tuition / expenses. This money isn't subtracted from income, it is subtracted from your TAX BILL. If you got married, there is a good chance your taxes could go to ZERO this year, even if you don't have any children.

Our bill was $0 when I got married in med school, and our income was higher than yours. The government refunded every dime we paid in taxes that year. It was a huge (five figure) refund.

 

[bomgd3]

Wow, are you serious?! I understand that you can't use deductions in addition to the standard deduction - you have to pick whichever is higher. In that case the standard deduction will definitely be higher. My fiancee has regular gov't loans at 6.8% so her interest is deductible. However, my loans are from my parent's HELOC at 2.75% so they claim that mortgage interest deduction.

Tax credits, on the other hand, can be used to directly lower my bill correct? I did a quick Google search and it looks like if we got married, we could use the American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit. I wasn't aware of these credits during MS4 so I think my parents might have claimed me as a dependent this year and listed my tuition/fees on their taxes, even though they don't derive any benefit from it due to the income limit. My fiancee's tuition bills for next year are up for grabs, though.

The more I read into this, the more advantageous it seems to legally get married now in order to take advantage of all of these benefits which would phase out once we are dual-income, plus the better tax brackets.

 

[sazerac]

Tax credits, on the other hand, can be used to directly lower my bill correct? I did a quick Google search and it looks like if we got married, we could use the American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit. I wasn't aware of these credits during MS4 so I think my parents might have claimed me as a dependent this year and listed my tuition/fees on their taxes, even though they don't derive any benefit from it due to the income limit. My fiancee's tuition bills for next year are up for grabs, though.

That sounds like the tax credit I used. It it a credit for paid tuition.

I'm still a student, and blissfully unaware of the tax implications of paying off student loans / interest.