Can I Claim Student Loan Interest as a Cosigner?

A cosigner can claim the student loan interest deduction, but only when the loan qualifies from the cosigner’s side of the return and the cosigner actually paid the interest. The rule that trips people up most often isn’t the payment side. It’s the relationship side: the student must have been you, your spouse, or your dependent at the time the loan was taken out. Clear that hurdle, stay under the income phase-out, and up to $2,500 of the interest you paid during the year is deductible.¹

The Relationship Test Decides Most Cases

Federal law defines a qualified education loan as debt incurred to pay higher education costs for the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or someone who was the taxpayer’s dependent when the loan was taken out.¹ If the student doesn’t fit one of those three categories on your return, the loan isn’t qualified for you, and the interest isn’t deductible no matter how much you paid.

A parent who cosigned for a child claimed as a dependent that year passes easily. A grandparent, aunt, uncle, or family friend who cosigned for someone they never claimed as a dependent does not. The student simply doesn’t fit any of the permitted categories from the cosigner’s perspective.

Timing is measured at origination, not at payment. If your child was your dependent when the loan was signed but has since become fully independent, you still qualify because the relationship existed at the moment of borrowing. It doesn’t work in reverse: someone who became your dependent after the loan was already in place doesn’t make the loan retroactively qualified.²

You Have To Be the One Who Actually Paid

Being legally obligated on the note isn’t enough. The deduction follows the money. If the primary borrower makes every payment and you never send a dollar to the servicer, you get nothing, even though your name is on the loan.

When payments are split during the year, each of you can only deduct what you personally paid. Keep records showing which payments came from your account. Both scheduled monthly payments and voluntary extra payments count, and interest that was capitalized into the principal (common after deferment or forbearance) can be deducted as you pay it down.³

Filing Status and Dependency Can Block the Deduction

Two situations shut the deduction off entirely, no matter how cleanly the relationship and payment rules line up:

Someone else claims you as a dependent on their return. You can’t take the deduction that year.¹
You file as married filing separately. The statute bars this filing status outright. A married cosigner who wants the deduction has to file jointly.¹

There’s also a trap for parents. If you claim the student as a dependent this year, the student can’t deduct any interest they paid, and their payments don’t transfer to you either. Only the interest you paid yourself lands on your return.³

Income Limits That Shrink or Erase the Deduction

The deduction phases out as your modified adjusted gross income rises. For the 2026 tax year:

Single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse: the deduction begins shrinking at $85,000 of MAGI and disappears at $100,000.³
Married filing jointly: the phase-out runs from $175,000 to $205,000.

Inside the range, the deduction is reduced proportionally. A single filer at $92,500 sits halfway through the $85,000 to $100,000 band and loses roughly half the available deduction. The $2,500 cap is per return, covering all qualified student loans combined, not per loan.³

Cosigners are often parents or relatives in peak earning years, which puts many of them at or above the ceiling. Check where your MAGI falls before spending time on documentation.

Getting the Numbers When the 1098-E Isn’t in Your Name

Loan servicers issue Form 1098-E to anyone who paid $600 or more in student loan interest during the year.⁴ The form usually goes to the primary borrower, so a cosigner who made the payments may never see one. That doesn’t prevent the deduction; it just means you need your own documentation.

Bank statements and payment confirmations showing transfers from your account to the servicer work. You can also call the servicer and ask for a breakdown of interest paid during the year, and most online portals produce a year-end summary that splits payments between principal and interest. Only the interest portion is deductible. If total interest on the loan was under $600, no 1098-E is issued to anyone, and you can still claim what you paid.

Where It Goes on Your Return

The student loan interest deduction is an above-the-line adjustment, so you don’t have to itemize to take it. Report it on Schedule 1 of Form 1040 on the line for student loan interest, using the lesser of $2,500 or the qualified interest you paid, reduced by any phase-out.⁵ If you’re a cosigner claiming interest that was reported to the borrower’s Social Security number, don’t attach anything extra, but keep your bank records and servicer correspondence in case the IRS asks.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 221 – Interest on Education Loans
2
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 456, Student Loan Interest Deduction
3
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 970 (2025), Tax Benefits for Education
4
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement
5
Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Schedule 1 (Form 1040)