No, you are not missing anything--you understood it. You cannot claim the interest on the student loan if you did not sign it or co-sign it, and your son cannot claim it if he is a dependent on anyone else's tax return. So-for this year, no one gets to claim it.
STUDENT LOAN INTEREST
Only the person whose name is on the student loan and who is legally obligated to pay the loan can deduct the student loan interest. If you did not sign or co-sign for the loan you cannot deduct the interest.
You cannot deduct student loan interest if you are being claimed as someone else’s dependent, or if you are filing as married filing separately.
The student loan interest deduction can reduce your taxable income by up to $2500
There is a phaseout for the Student loan interest deduction, which means the amount you can deduct gets reduced when your modified adjusted gross income hits certain income levels and is even eliminated at certain income levels -
• If your filing status is single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er), then the phaseout begins at $65,000 until $80,000, after which the deduction is eliminated entirely.
• If your filing status is married filing joint, then the phaseout beings at $130,000 until $160,000, after which the deduction is eliminated entirely.
Enter the interest you paid for your student loan by going to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Education>Student Loan Interest Paid in 2019 (Form 1098E)
Look on your 2019 Schedule 1 line 20 to see your student loan interest deduction
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
