Husband's Student Loans In Default. Can we avoid tax returns being taken this year?
SOS. I have no experience with student loans but found myself in a situation needing to navigate them asap before filing taxes.
Quick summary and context:
- We are located in Minnesota
-I married my husband in July 2025.
-I make $65k a year, he makes $58k.
-I have a daughter in preschool from a previous marriage that I claim on taxes for the Childcare/dependent tax credit.
-Current husband has $21.5k student loans in default from years before we were together (so far no wages have been garnished):
Questions:
- Is there anything that can be done to stop them from taking our federal tax return if we file joint before April 15th? (Is it possible to get out of default by the 15th?)
- What would be the best approach, loan consolidation, income driven repayment plan, or both? And if both are needed, which do we do first?
-Because we were not married for all of 2025, can I file individually and still claim the child care tax credit for my daughter? We can have his federal return taken without much of an impact, but the child care credit is a significant amount that we don't want to lose.
Thank you in advance!