Tax Tip: Tax Deductions for Student Loans

March 25 -- If you're paying off a student loan, some changes in the tax law may help you.

Until now, you could deduct the interest you paid on your student loan only during the first five years.

"Now the interest deduction is available whenever the loan is paid. Not just during the first 60 months. That was the old rule during that first five year period," says Don Roberts of the Internal Revenue Service. "So whenever you make the payment, however old the loan is, you can take a deduction for the interest portion of that payment."

Roberts says there are limits on how much interest you can write off and on who can qualify to take the deduction.

"There is a limit of $2,500, and your adjusted gross income has to be within a certain range in order to qualify," he says. "For a single person, it would be under $65,000. For a married couple filing jointly, under $130,000."

Roberts adds that as you get closer to that limit — above $50,000 for a single person or $100,000 for a married couple — the interest deduction is gradually phased out.