Canada resident but US citizen need advice on RAP or IBR
My spouse and I moved to Canada a few years ago for our careers. We have a young child and although we are US citizens, we are close to permanent residency, plan to purchase a home, and do not plan to return to US to live for at least a decade or so. I have about 200k in debt and my spouse 35k. I went on SAVE, she did not and still on IBR, but we are both in forbearance until September.
When we have filed our taxes since 2023, we have chosen the FEIE which puts our AGI at 0 (choosing foreign tax credit puts our AGI at a little over 200k).
One question is which option RAP or IBR or some other plan would be best for us if we just want the lower monthly payment and don’t plan on returning to US.
The second question concerns which AGI will they consider for monthly payments? I don’t mind paying monthly, but the calculations I was getting for RAP was at $1600 a month, which is far too much for us since we hope to purchase a reasonable home here. But if I enter 0 for my AGI it would be at $10 a month? Since we’ve filed FEIE for last two years at 0 AGI is that what they will continue to look at in determining monthly payment? Or will they look at the potential AGI of 200k (which is based on our combined income)?
Thanks for any advice and clarification!
EDIT:
I finally looked on FSA to apply for a new IDR. They have both my spouse’s and my tax files on record I guess since they calculated it quickly. However, I was offered only 2 options. The standard plan which has monthly at $1200+ or the ICR, the monthly is at $0 and “total to be paid” at $0, with a disbursement of $340k on 2035. I am even more confused now since I know ICR is going to be eliminated in 2028, but I am even more confused by the $0 “total to be paid.” I am, however, glad that the monthly is $0. Any one else get something similar when trying to apply to a SAVE alternative?