Guten Abend,
I am married but will be filing my taxes as married but separate this year because I am on a income based student loan repayment program. On top of that I am a government employee and in five years the rest of my loans will be forgiven. I have already paid for 5 years so I am getting close. My big problem is this:
I want to get my taxable income as low as legally possible this year so what I do pay on my student loans is the least amount possible. I am already maxing out my 457b government retirement account at $18,000 a year. I don't think I am allowed to do a traditional IRA but I could be wrong. We don't have a HSA at my employer and my insurance is really good. Is there any other way I could invest money that would bring down my taxable income? Are municipal bonds an option? I am willing to take a lower return rate depending on the situation. For example, if I could invest another$10,000 pre tax that could lower my monthly payment by $250-$350 a month which I could then just simply invest. Any ideas or should I just take my lumps for the next five years? I have zero debt outside of loans.