My mom (and co-signer) pays my student loans - do I file them on my tax returns or does she?

[carolinars]

My mom is my cosigner on my student loans and she makes the payments. I was unemployed for two years after college and was her dependent, so she claimed the student loans on her tax returns. Now I'm no longer her dependent and I have a job, but she continued to make the payments on the loans. So, do I claim the loans on my tax return because I'm no longer a dependent, or can she still continue claiming them, given she has been making the payments?

[DDollar · Accepted solution]

To claim a deduction you must be legally obligated (co-signing counts) to repay the loan and you must actually make the payments. If you are no longer a dependent, payments made by you are deductible by you and payments made by your parent(s) are deductible by your parent(s).