Tax accountant knowledgeable in student loans (PSLF) and future planning?
I am at the point where I believe I need a tax accountant/ CPA because I’m having a hard time calculating some next moves. It has been unreasonably difficult to find a tax accountant knowledgeable in student loans, Roth IRA recharacterization (backdoor Roth down the line), and future planning as related to these.
For background if that would help:
My wife and I both make around 60k. She has ~40k in student loans and is pursuing PSLF as a public school teacher, so we filed separately this year to lower her monthly payments. Was this the right move? Who knows, but the tax accountant I used had no clue what I was talking about regarding this stuff so just filed MFS for us on a whim with no basis on whether it’s actually provide us financial advantage.
At the same time, I maxed a Roth IRA for 2025 and learned I may not have been eligible due to filing separately, so now I’m dealing with recharacterizing, backdoor Roth and a possible amendment to this 2025 year’s taxes.
I’m mainly trying to figure out:
- MFS vs MFJ long term with PSLF
- How to handle retirement investing alongside that (nothing complex, just how to recharacterize and knowing when to hit the backdoor Roth)
And yes, I’ve done extensive research on modern AI about these things, but the agreeably and double-backing the AI does does not give me the most confidence in making these bigger decisions.
Would love recommendations for someone who might understand this intersection and who I could seek to work with.
I appreciate any help.