Reporting the amount of student loan interest you paid in 2023 on your federal tax return may count as a deduction. A deduction reduces the amount of your income that is subject to tax, which may benefit you by reducing the amount of tax you may have to pay.
How Does a 1098 Affect My Taxes? If you want to claim a deduction for the amount of interest you've paid on your mortgage over the last year, you can file the 1098 form(s) you received. By claiming the deduction, you'll be able to directly reduce your taxable income.
Depending on your income and tax filing status, you may be able to claim up to $2,500 of the student loan interest you paid in a given year. If your payment is too high, seek income-driven repayment rather than a pause on payments. Pauses, known as deferment and forbearance, are not long-term solutions.
Student loan interest is a deduction that reduces your taxable income. Therefore, you will not see your refund increase by the amount shown on your Form 1098-E. This means that with a lower taxable income you will pay less taxes.
You use the 1098-E to figure your student loan interest deduction. You can deduct up to $2,500 worth of student loan interest from your taxable income as long as you meet certain conditions: The interest was your legal obligation to pay, not someone else's. Your filing status is not Married Filing Separately.
Thus, the maximum credit a taxpayer may claim per student is $2,500 per year.
Student Loan Interest Deduction
You can take a tax deduction for the interest paid on student loans that you took out for yourself, your spouse, or your dependent. This benefit applies to all loans (not just federal student loans) used to pay for higher education expenses. The maximum deduction is $2,500 a year.
Credit history: When entering college, most students have little to no credit history. That means the lender could be unsure of their ability to repay the loan since students don't typically have a history of paying any loans. This can lead to a higher interest rate.
You can claim student loan interest on your taxes, however the student loan interest deduction begins to phase out if your adjusted gross income (AGI) is: $95,000 if filing single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) $195,000 if married filing jointly.
Form 1098-E
If you pay at least $600 in interest on a qualified student loan per year, your lender is required to send this form out to you. You can potentially deduct up to $2,500 from your taxable income if you qualify for the student loan interest deduction.
You may deduct the lesser of $2,500 or the amount of interest you actually paid during the year. The deduction is gradually reduced and eventually eliminated by phaseout when your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) amount reaches the annual limit for your filing status.
If you have an amount showing in Box 4 of your 1098-T, it may reduce your allowable education tax credit claimed for the prior year. That, in turn, may result in an increased tax liability for the current tax year. Box 6 shows adjustments to scholarships or grants you received for a prior year.
To claim the American opportunity credit complete Form 8863 and submit it with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Enter the nonrefundable part of the credit on Schedule 3 (Form 1040 or 1040-SR), line 3. Enter the refundable part of the credit on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 29.
Student loans can factor into your taxes as the interest is often tax deductible. So, you can reduce your tax bill if you include the amount of interest you've paid during the tax year.
To claim the Student Loan Interest Deduction, your MAGI must be $90,000 or less for single filers and $185,000 or less for joint filers in 2023. The deduction phases out for single filers with MAGIs of $75,000 to $90,000 and joint filers with MAGIs of $155,000 to $185,000.
Student Debt vs Income by Age Groups
Among the age groups, adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are the most likely to have student loan debt. Meanwhile, adults between the ages of 35 and 49 years old on average owe the most student loan debt.
Estimate the Interest Rate You'll Pay
For the 2024-25 academic year, the interest rate on federal direct loans for undergraduate students is 6.53%. The current rate for graduate or professional students is 8.08%, and it's 9.08% for PLUS loan borrowers.
If you made federal student loan payments in 2023, you may be eligible to deduct a portion of the interest you paid on your 2023 federal tax return. Student loan interest payments are reported both to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and to you on IRS Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is a credit for qualified education expenses paid for an eligible student for the first four years of higher education. You can get a maximum annual credit of $2,500 per eligible student.
Dependent Income: If you are full-time student and a dependent, any money you earn won't be counted in your household's income to determine rent. Any loans you receive also won't be counted as income if the borrower or co-borrower is a member of the household.
It's important to remember that the 1098-T is an information form only and does not directly define taxable income or eligibility for a credit. Students may need to provide copies of their bursar bill to their tax preparer to confirm the dates that stipends were refunded.
If you're wondering, “Is student loan interest deductible?” The answer is yes. In fact, federal student loan borrowers could qualify to deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest per tax return per tax year.