Your Guide to Filing Taxes With Student Loans
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When filing taxes, don’t report your student loans as income. Student loans aren’t taxable because you’ll eventually repay them.
Free money used for school is treated differently. You don’t pay taxes on scholarship or fellowship money used toward tuition, fees and equipment or books required for coursework. If your entire scholarship is nontaxable, you don’t have to report it on your return.
But any portion of those funds used for room and board, travel or optional expenses is taxable — as well as any money received for teaching, conducting research or other services related to the scholarship. You’ll want to report any taxable amount of the rewarded money as part of your gross income.
If you benefitted from an employer student loan repayment program, up to $5,250 is considered nontaxable. Any amount over $5,250 must be reported as income — your employer will likely include this amount on your W-2.
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How to deduct student loan interest
From March 2020 until fall 2023, student loan payments were paused, and federal interest rates were set to 0% as part of a broader pandemic relief effort. However, if you still repaid student loans last year, you may be eligible for the student loan interest deduction.
If your interest payment was over $600, your student loan servicer will automatically send you Form 1098-E, a student loan interest statement. You can still deduct interest if you paid less than $600. You'll just need to contact your servicer to receive the form or access your online account to find the exact amount.
Filing jointly and separately with student loans
With student loans, your tax filing status mainly affects your income-driven repayment plan, if you have one. Income-driven repayment plans use the adjusted gross income listed on your taxes to determine your monthly payments.
If you file as single or head of household, your payments will be based on your income alone. If you’re married, filing jointly or filing separately can increase or decrease your student loan payments.
How to qualify for education tax breaks
If you paid for education expenses in the past year, you might qualify for an education tax credit. You can choose from either the American opportunity credit or the lifetime learning credit.
You can even qualify for one of these breaks if you paid for qualifying costs, like tuition and books, with a student loan. Your school will send you Form 1098-T, a tuition statement, to help you track qualified expense payments.
Should you refinance your student loans?
Note: This calculator assumes that after you refinance, you’ll make minimum monthly payments.
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When to talk to a tax professional
As with most tax-related topics, if your student loan situation seems complex, consider discussing your options with a professional. They can help you determine which combination of filing status, tax deductions and credits will save you the most money now and in the future.
You also may want to talk to a tax professional if you can’t afford your tax bill after student loan forgiveness. They may be able to help you reduce or avoid those charges, especially if it means your total liabilities are now more than your total assets.
