Paying Your Child’s Student Loan? The Tax Rules May Surprise You

If you're helping your child pay off their student loans, you may be wondering if you can claim the student loan interest deduction on your tax return. In most cases, you can't claim the deduction unless you're legally responsible for repaying the loan yourself. But that doesn't necessarily mean the interest deduction is lost.

Your Child May Be Able to Claim It

The IRS generally treats a situation where a parent pays their child's student loan as if the parent gave the money to the child, and the child then used that money to make the loan payment. That means your child may be able to claim the student loan interest deduction, even though you actually made the payment. There is one important catch: your child generally cannot be claimed as your dependent for the year.

You Don't Have to Itemize

Another thing to know is that the student loan interest deduction isn't limited to people who itemize their deductions. Your child may be able to claim the deduction whether they take the standard deduction or itemize on Schedule A. The deduction is limited to $2,500 of qualified student loan interest per year, and income limits can reduce or eliminate the deduction. For 2025, the deduction begins to phase out when modified adjusted gross income is over:

• $175,000 for married couples filing jointly

• $85,000 for other filers

The Bottom Line

If you're helping your child make student loan payments, don't automatically assume that you should claim the interest on your tax return. Depending on the situation, your child may be the one who can claim the deduction instead.

Make sure you keep records of the payments and the student loan interest paid so the deduction can be properly reported when it's time to file.