Doctored Money Blog

New "Tools and Calculators" Page

We're Making It Easy

We finally had time to create some new calculators related to loan payments and PSLF and make them available (for free, always for free) online. There are also Social Security benefit and IRS withholding calculators. Go to our Tools and Calculators page for a listing. But actually, below is a full listing anyway, so, there (here) you are already.

See if anything might be useful for you. Figure out your income-driven loan repayment amount. Calculate your tax withholding, download our PSLF payment tracker, estimate your future social security benefits. As always, feedback/questions/suggestions are encouraged!

 

Student Loan Calculators

Simple PSLF Payment and PAYE/IBR Cap Calculator -- Figure out your monthly payment. Also, displays your "cap", and the income at which you'll reach this cap. Also useful for determining whether you have the "partial financial hardship" needed to enter PAYE/IBR.

PSLF Payment Tracker -- Downloadable Excel spreadsheet to keep track of eligible payments and other data. You'll absolutely need a "from-day-one" record if your PSLF-eligible loan payments are miscounted by your servicer. Unfortunately, it happens often. Each undercounted payment can cost you thousands in lost forgiveness.

PAYE vs REPAYE Loan Forgiveness Maximizer -- Enter your loan info and estimates of current and future income for you (and/or spouse) to evaluate which plan is best for PSLF. Also does a married filing jointly vs separately analysis.

Weighted Average Interest Rate Calculator -- When consolidating, your existing loans will be collapsed into one loan (or two if a mix of subsidized and unsubsidized loans). Use this to find your new rate.

 

Tax and Misc Calculators

IRS Tax Withholding Calculator -- Use this tool to see how the allowances you list on your W4 will affect your take home pay.

Social Security Benefit Calculator -- Enter your past earnings and estimated future earnings to figure out what your benefit will be based on the age you stop working, and the age you start collecting.