Can a co-signer claim student loan interest deduction on taxes?
So I co-signed on my daughter's private student loans with Sallie Mae a few years back (huge regret now, but that's a whole other story). The thing is, I've been making the payments on these loans since she graduated because she's still getting established in her career and can't afford them yet. Here's my question - I didn't receive any 1098-E form from Sallie Mae, but they did send me a letter stating that I paid about $3,200 in interest last year. Can I claim this interest on my taxes as the co-signer, even though the loans are technically in my daughter's name? I'm the one actually making the payments! I've been looking through IRS publications but getting confused about whether co-signers can take the student loan interest deduction or if only the primary borrower can. Anyone gone through this before and know the answer?
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Beth Ford
This is actually a good question that comes up often! The IRS is pretty clear on this - you can claim the student loan interest deduction if you're legally obligated to make the payments (which as a co-signer, you are) AND you actually made the payments. Since you're the one who made the payments and you have documentation showing the interest amount, you should be eligible to claim the deduction. The fact that you didn't receive a 1098-E doesn't matter - you can still claim the deduction using the interest amount from the letter Sallie Mae sent you. Just keep in mind that the maximum student loan interest deduction is $2,500 per year, regardless of how much you actually paid. Also, the deduction starts to phase out at certain income levels, so depending on your income, you might not be able to claim the full amount.
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Atticus Domingo
•Thanks for this explanation! So just to be clear, I don't need the actual 1098-E form to claim this on my taxes? The letter showing the interest paid will be sufficient? And does it matter that the loan statements go to my daughter's address?
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Beth Ford
•You don't need the actual 1098-E form to claim the deduction. The letter showing how much interest you paid is sufficient documentation for your tax records. Keep this documentation in case of an audit. The fact that loan statements go to your daughter's address doesn't affect your ability to claim the deduction. What matters is who is legally obligated to pay the loan (you are, as a co-signer) and who actually made the payments (also you). Just make sure you can document both those facts if ever questioned.
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Morita Montoya
I was in this exact same situation with my son's loans! I couldn't figure out the deduction rules either, so I ended up using https://taxr.ai to analyze all my loan documents and payment records. Their system actually caught that I was eligible for the student loan interest deduction as a co-signer for the past three years, which I had missed! The tool showed me where to enter the interest amount on my tax forms even without the 1098-E. They also explained that since I was legally obligated to pay as a co-signer AND I actually made the payments, I qualified for the deduction. Saved me a ton of time researching IRS rules!
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Kingston Bellamy
•I've never heard of this service. How does it work? Like do you just upload your documents or do they have actual people looking at them? Seems like a privacy concern if real people are involved.
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Joy Olmedo
•Does it work for other loan types too? I'm a guarantor on my brother's car loan and wondering if I can claim any of those interest payments since I've been making them.
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Morita Montoya
•The service works by scanning your documents using AI - you upload them to their secure system and it analyzes the text for tax implications. No humans look at your docs unless you specifically request expert help, which is optional. Car loans are different from student loans unfortunately. The student loan interest deduction is specifically for qualified education loans. General car loans don't qualify for a tax deduction regardless of who pays them. That's one of the things the system helped clarify for me - which types of interest are deductible and which aren't.
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Kingston Bellamy
Just wanted to follow up - I took the advice and tried https://taxr.ai with my son's student loan documents that I co-signed. Turns out I've been missing out on claiming about $2,100 in deductions each year for the past two years! The system immediately flagged that I was eligible as a co-signer since I've been making all the payments. Their document analysis showed exactly which parts of my loan agreement made me eligible for the deduction. Super helpful since my tax software never asked me about being a co-signer, just about being a primary borrower. They even generated a letter explaining my situation in case of audit. Definitely using this for all my tax docs going forward!
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Isaiah Cross
The student loan interest situation can be so frustrating! I was trying to call the IRS for 3 weeks to get clarification about co-signer deductions and literally could not get through. Always on hold forever then disconnected. Finally tried https://claimyr.com and their service got me a callback from the IRS in like 2 hours! The IRS agent confirmed everything - co-signers CAN claim the interest deduction if they made the payments, regardless of whose name is primary on the loan. You don't need the 1098-E specifically as long as you have documentation of the interest paid. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c if you're still struggling to get through to the IRS. Saved me days of frustration!
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Kiara Greene
•Wait, how does this actually work? The IRS will actually call you back? I thought that was impossible. Is this some kind of scam?
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Evelyn Kelly
•I'm skeptical. I've been trying to reach the IRS for months about my refund. No way they'd call back just because some service asks them to. What's the catch? Do you work for them or something?
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Isaiah Cross
•It's not a scam at all! The service basically navigates the IRS phone tree for you and holds your place in line. When an agent is about to be available, they call you and connect you. It's like having someone wait on hold for you. I don't work for them or get anything for mentioning them. I was just desperate after weeks of trying to get through. The catch is that you're essentially paying someone else to wait on hold instead of doing it yourself. For me it was worth it because I needed a definitive answer about the co-signer deduction before filing my taxes, and I kept getting disconnected after waiting 45+ minutes.
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Evelyn Kelly
OK I need to apologize for being so skeptical. I was desperate about my refund situation so I finally tried the Claimyr service. Within 3 hours I actually got a call back from a real IRS agent who helped resolve my issue! While I had them on the phone, I also asked about this co-signer student loan interest question since I'm in a similar situation. They confirmed exactly what everyone here is saying - co-signers CAN claim the deduction if they made the payments. The agent walked me through the exact form where to report it and what documentation I need to keep. Completely worth it and saved me so much stress.
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Paloma Clark
Just wanted to add a bit more info to this discussion. I work at a tax prep office (not an expert but I see a lot of these cases). The student loan interest deduction is actually what's called an "above-the-line" deduction, meaning you can take it even if you don't itemize your deductions. You'll find it on Schedule 1 of Form 1040. Also, don't forget there are income limits. For 2025 filing, the deduction starts to phase out when your modified adjusted gross income hits $75,000 for single filers or $155,000 for married filing jointly, and it's completely phased out at $90,000/$185,000.
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Atticus Domingo
•This is super helpful! One more question - does claiming this deduction have any impact on my daughter? If I claim it as the co-signer who paid, does that mean she can't claim it in future years if she takes over the payments?
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Paloma Clark
•Great question! If you claim the deduction in a year when you made the payments, it doesn't affect your daughter's ability to claim it in future years when she makes the payments. The deduction follows whoever actually pays the interest in a given tax year. So if your daughter starts making the payments next year, she could claim the deduction on her taxes (assuming she meets the other requirements like income limits). The IRS looks at this on a year-by-year basis, not as a lifetime restriction. Just make sure you both keep good records of who paid what and when.
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Heather Tyson
Don't make the mistake I made! I was co-signer on student loans and claimed the interest for years, but during an audit they disallowed it because I couldn't prove I made the actual payments. Make sure you're keeping bank statements or canceled checks showing the money came from YOUR account, not just the letter showing interest was paid.
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Raul Neal
•Great point! I actually take a screenshot of each payment confirmation from my bank account when I pay my son's loans that I co-signed. I keep a folder with all the payment confirmations plus the year-end statement showing interest. Better safe than sorry!
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Christian Bierman
This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a similar situation where I co-signed my nephew's student loans and have been making payments for the past year. I had no idea I could claim the student loan interest deduction as a co-signer. One thing I'm wondering about - if the loan servicer sends the 1098-E to my nephew (the primary borrower) but I'm the one making the payments, do I need to get a copy of that form from him? Or is the payment documentation from my bank account sufficient like others have mentioned? Also, has anyone dealt with multiple loan servicers? My nephew has loans with both Navient and Great Lakes, and I've been paying on both. Just want to make sure I can claim the interest from both servicers on my return.
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