Do you claim interest on student loans you haven't paid for yet?

[mitchellhohler]

when the prompt asks "did you pay any interest on student loans in 2016", does it mean, did I accrue any interest over the course of 2016? I didnt start paying my student loans, but I have federal loans that are accruing intrest. am i claming this intrest that i haven ta ctually paid yet?

[jerry2000]

NO. You can not deduct student loan interest that you did not pay. NO. What you owe doesn't matter, what accrues doesn't matter. Only what you actually paid out of your pocket matters.