I have recently graduated from a Maine university with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM program and I just got a job here in Maine. My grace period is coming to a close and I’m trying to determine what repayment plan to set up. Because of Maine’s Opportunity Maine my loan payments are refundable tax credits for state income tax.
At first I thought the obvious choice was to repay the loan on a standard 10 year plan, I’ll pay off my debt quicker and won’t pay as much in interest. There is a problem with this plan though, the State will only cover monthly payments up to a certain amount, my payments exceed this amount by roughly $50/month. That’s $600 a year that isn’t counting towards my tax credit. So because the state is essentially paying my loans for me I’m wondering if the extended plan would be wiser. The extended repayment plan would reduce my monthly payments below the maximum level and so that I can live more comfortably and not worry about living paycheck to paycheck. As far as I’m aware the Opportunity Maine tax credit does not have a maximum time limit for loan repayment. Is there something I’m missing or is the extended plan the clear way to go? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Submitted February 24, 2019 at 09:05PM by guitaristforrent https://ift.tt/2H3g6Gf
