Highlights from this week included important national information. Student Debt (Navient), IRS 2021 tax information and at-home Covid tests. Want to make sure you have access to this information to be ready for the tomorrows ahead!
Student Debt Forgiveness
The court ruling against a student debt lender, Navient hit the headlines this week. This ruling impacts approximately 66,000 borrowers across 38 states (and the District of Columbia) for past-due loans from students who have not maintained payments.
There are stipulations attached to this ruling.
- To qualify, borrowers must be from either the District of Columbia or one of the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin
- Lived in a participating state since January 2017
- Entered repayment on a direct-loan program before January 2015
- Had at least one federal loan eligible for income-driven repayment
- Had at least two consecutive years of loan forbearance between October 2009 and January 2017
- Didn’t enroll in income-driven repayment before forbearance
If you had a private student loan, you may qualify if you:
- Live in one of the states listed in the settlement (above) plus Arkansas, Kansas, Michigan, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, or a military address postal code; AND
- Took out a private subprime student loan — loans for borrowers with low credit scores — through Sallie Mae (Navient’s predecessor) between 2002 and 2014 and had more than seven consecutive months of late payments before June 30
- Or received a loan to attend a for-profit school on this list
Adulting Adventures Ahead online “course” resource for young adults here: https://courses.thelivingplanner.com/courses/adulting-adventures-ahead
IRS 2021 Tax Information
I know, it’s only January! Let’s get you geared up for filing 2021 taxes.
There are big and small changes coming for this filing season. ** The deadline for filing is April 18th, 2022. And, the filing for a six month extension will move to October 17. 2022. This applies to you if your income for the year is above a certain amount, you must file a federal income tax return.
This amount for which you are liable is dependent on several factors, including your age and the type of income you received. For instance, for the 2021 tax year, a single, independent adult under the age of 65 must file a return if they earned $12,400 or more gross income during the year.
At-Home Covid Tests
Starting Saturday, 1/15/2022 private insurers must cover the cost of up to eight at-home eligible Covid-19 tests per month. These eligible tests must be fully reimbursed by your insurance company, with no deductibles or cost-sharing.
The tests must also be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. To know if a test is eligible, check here for a searchable list of approved rapid antigen-based tests and here for molecular-based (PCR) tests.
If you have private health insurance, check with your health insurance provider for their requirements. For those on Medicare, the tests are not covered, unless ordered by a health care professional.
To obtain tests mailed to your home beginning 1/19/2022, here is the site: https://www.covidtests.gov/ For additional information about Covid tests, here is the information from CMS.gov: https://www.cms.gov/how-to-get-your-at-home-OTC-COVID-19-test-for-free
Keeping Up with Life
Keeping up with all the components of life amidst everything going on is crazy. We had a Tsunami warning issued up and down the west coast yesterday – jeez, who had this on the 2022 bingo card?!
Having certain things prepared in advance lessen the stress of receiving warnings like this. This stress reduction is possible for other areas of life, work and business too! When we take care of “the business of life” in advance, whew!
Ready to take small action for you, your families, young adults, pets and your business? Check out the online segments I’ve created to help you get started. Home Page is: https://courses.thelivingplanner.com Have questions, email me: Lynn@thelivingplanner.com
Preparation is the key to success (Alexander Graham Bell) –Lynn
#LifeHacks