IBR Miscalculated?

[IlliniMD]

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So for all the people that recently graduated and have hit the 6 months of grace period on all of their med school loans this is for you:

I am in the process of fighting for clarification with Direct Loans on what my IBR payment should be. In all online calculators and then as I calculate it myself using the equation: .Monthly Payment = [0.15 (AGI – 1.5*poverty level)]/12 my calculations and then the amount Direct Loans has me paying is roughly $50 different. I have called and talked with them multiple times, have exchanged multiple emails and the only answer I ever get is "the online calculators are only estimates" However, they are never able to actually identify what difference they are accounting for or what equation it is they are using.

The other issue is that every time I talk with them they claim over and over that the principal balance is taken into account when calculating your payments, however it is published in multiple places throughout their website that principal balance and interest rate are only used to determine partial financial hardship and subsequently, eligibility for IBR.

..If anyone else is in the same position and has had any success in figuring this out, or any other words of wisdom, please let me know. .

 

[Monsterdaddy]

Perhaps the problem is what they are using for AGI. After all, as a med student you probably have had no income for the past year so tax returns are useless.

AGI is your gross income minus 401(k) and Flexible Spending Acct deductions minus health insurance premiums. They may have your gross income and are making different deductions, i.e. assuming 401(k) is zero.

Ask about what AGI they are using. I believe you can submit an income statement to them too and then they would need to use that for AGI calculations.