I paid over $3000 college loan interest in year 2016, i did not have a job in the same year so no taxes paid. How can i claim the interest paid back?

[temiore]

If I cannot get the interest back can my parents claim for me as a dependant and claim the interest?

[rjs · Accepted solution]

The student loan interest deduction is not a refund of the interest you paid. It's a reduction of your taxable income. If you had no taxable income, the student loan interest deduction doesn't give you any benefit.

Your parents cannot claim a student loan interest deduction if they did not pay the interest.

[richard-aderibig]

Thank you for your quick  response. Since I did no work do I really need to file taxes for 2016. It might be more beneficial if i am a dependant for my parents. They will not be able to claim a student loan deduction but may be able to claim other things?

[rjs]

If you had no income at all, you certainly do not have to file a tax return. But that doesn't mean that your parents can claim you as a dependent. There's a whole list of requirements that have to be met to claim someone as a dependent. You can see all the rules in the "Exemptions for Dependents" section of IRS Publication 501, which you can read at the following link. Table 5 is a good concise summary of the rules. The details are in the text. Or your parents could just go through the questions in the Personal Info section of TurboTax and see if it says they can claim you.

<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p501/ar02.html#en_US_2016_publink1000220868">https://www.irs.gov/pu...>

[rjs]

richard.aderibig - Are you the same person who posted the original question, with the name temiore? If so, please stick to one account in the forum. It's confusing if it looks like two different people are posting.