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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFor a 2025 Canadian income-tax return, claim eligible interest paid on a qualifying government student or apprentice loan on federal line 31900. Outside Quebec, enter the corresponding provincial or territorial amount on Form 428, line 58520. You may also use eligible unused interest from the preceding five years, but the oldest amount must be used first and no amount may be claimed twice.
This is a non-refundable tax credit—not a reduction in your loan’s interest rate. The federal calculation uses the lowest personal income-tax rate; the Government of Canada describes the federal credit as 15% of eligible interest. Provincial or territorial rules determine the additional amount.
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What the student-loan interest benefit actually is
The phrase “interest rate benefit” can be misleading. Canada’s program does not lower the interest rate charged by your lender and does not refund interest dollar for dollar. It is a non-refundable tax credit for eligible interest paid on a qualifying government student or apprentice loan.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →For federal purposes, the credit is calculated at the lowest personal income-tax rate. Government of Canada repayment guidance describes that federal rate as 15% of eligible interest. For example, $1,000 of eligible interest produces a $150 federal credit calculation before any provincial or territorial credit is considered. A non-refundable credit can reduce tax you owe to zero, but it cannot create a refund by itself when your total tax is already zero.
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The rules below apply to the 2025 return using the Canada Revenue Agency’s 2025 instructions. If you are filing a later tax year, use that year’s line 31900 page and forms because line numbers, wording, or procedures can change.
Who can claim the credit
The legally responsible borrower
Only the student or apprentice who is legally responsible for the loan can claim the interest. The Canada Revenue Agency states: “Only the student (borrower) who is legally responsible for the loan can claim this credit.”
That remains true if somebody else made the payment. A parent, spouse, relative, or employer may have paid interest on your behalf, but the borrower named in the loan agreement is the person who claims it. The person who supplied the money does not claim the credit instead.
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The debt must be a government student or apprentice loan for post-secondary education. Eligible loans generally arise under one of these laws or a similar provincial or territorial law:
- Canada Student Loans Act
- Canada Student Financial Assistance Act
- Apprentice Loans Act
- Comparable provincial or territorial government student-loan legislation
Interest on an ordinary private education loan, personal line of credit, credit card, or other commercial borrowing does not qualify merely because you used the money for tuition or living costs.
Loans that lost their qualifying character
The CRA excludes interest on a loan that was combined, renegotiated, or reconsolidated with other debt. It also excludes interest arising from a court judgment after a failure to repay. If a government loan was refinanced or transferred to a financial institution, inspect the new agreement and annual statement rather than assuming every later interest charge remains eligible.
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When the paperwork is unclear, ask the loan administrator whether the current balance and interest still relate to the original qualifying government loan. For a provincial question, use that province or territory’s tax authority instructions.
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What to gather before filing
Prepare the following before opening your tax return:
- Your return year. The CRA page currently identifies the applicable instructions as “Tax year: 2025 | Prior tax years: 2024 and earlier.”
- The annual statement for the qualifying loan, showing interest paid during the year.
- Any T4A document or related statement available through your National Student Loans Service Centre account. Government guidance says these documents and statements are generally available at the start of each calendar year.
- A year-by-year list of unused eligible interest from the preceding five years.
- Evidence of amounts already claimed, so that you do not claim the same interest twice.
- Your provincial or territorial filing form, if you live outside Quebec.
The CRA does not maintain your carry-forward ledger for you. Keep the statements and your own calculation with your tax records, even if your tax software stores the amount.
How to claim interest on a 2025 return
- Choose the correct tax-year instructions. Use the CRA instructions for the return you are preparing. The steps and line numbers below are for the 2025 return; check the current-year line 31900 page for a later return.
- Confirm borrower and loan eligibility. Make sure you are the person legally responsible for the debt and that the loan is issued under qualifying federal, provincial, or territorial student- or apprentice-loan legislation.
- Collect the year’s interest figure. Use the annual statement or official loan records to identify eligible interest paid during 2025. Do not substitute total payments: principal repayments are not interest.
- Review older unused amounts. List eligible interest from each of the preceding five years that has not already been claimed. Remove any amount previously used on an earlier return.
- Apply the oldest amount first. Combine current-year eligible interest with unused amounts, but use the oldest carry-forward year before newer years. This order protects amounts that are closest to the end of their five-year window.
- Enter the federal claim. Report the eligible total on federal line 31900.
- Complete the non-Quebec provincial or territorial claim. If you file outside Quebec, enter the applicable amount on Form 428, line 58520, following the form for your province or territory.
- Save the calculation. Record each source year, the amount available, the amount claimed, and any remainder. Retain the statements supporting the figures.
Where the amount goes on your return
| Filing situation | Federal entry | Provincial or territorial entry | What to verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outside Quebec | Line 31900 | Form 428, line 58520 | Use the form for your province or territory and its current instructions. |
| Quebec resident | Federal line 31900 | Not stated in the CRA line-31900 summary; use Revenu Québec’s current instructions and provincial process. | Federal and Quebec claims are handled through separate federal and Quebec filing guidance. |
Do not assume that entering the federal amount automatically completes a Quebec claim. Quebec filers should follow Revenu Québec’s instructions for the provincial return as well as the federal line 31900 instructions.
Can you still claim student-loan interest from a previous year?
Yes. If you could not use the credit in the year the eligible interest was paid because you had no tax payable, you can carry the unused amount forward and claim it in any of the next five years. The five-year period is measured from the year in which the interest was paid.
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For a 2025 return, eligible amounts from 2020 through 2024 may be available, subject to the five-year limit and any amounts already claimed. A 2020 amount is closer to expiry than a 2024 amount, so it should be used first.
How the five-year window works
| Interest source year | Position when preparing a 2025 return | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Current-year interest | Add eligible interest paid in 2025. |
| 2024 | One year old | Use after any older balance. |
| 2023 | Two years old | Keep in the ledger if not fully used. |
| 2022 | Three years old | Use before 2023–2024 amounts. |
| 2021 | Four years old | Check remaining balance carefully. |
| 2020 | Five-year carry-forward limit approaching | Use before every newer carry-forward amount, if still eligible and unused. |
The table illustrates the ordering for a 2025 return, not a guarantee that every listed year has a balance. Your own statements and prior returns determine what is available.
How to keep a carry-forward ledger
A simple ledger prevents the two most common errors: allowing an old amount to expire and claiming the same interest twice. Use one row per interest year.
| Interest year | Eligible interest originally available | Previously claimed | Balance before this return | Amount used this return | Balance after this return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: 2020 | Enter the figure from the 2020 statement | Enter amounts reported on earlier returns | Original less prior claims | Use first if a balance remains | Subtract this year’s use |
| Example: 2021 | Enter the figure from the 2021 statement | Enter earlier claims | Original less prior claims | Use after 2020 is exhausted | Subtract this year’s use |
| Each newer year | Record the statement amount | Record prior claims | Calculate the remaining balance | Use only after older years | Carry the remainder forward |
Update the ledger after filing, not just before it. Keep a copy of the return calculation and the supporting statements together so the next year’s oldest amount is immediately visible.
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Current-year interest versus carry-forward interest
| Question | Current-year interest | Unused carry-forward interest |
|---|---|---|
| When was it paid? | During the return year, such as 2025. | During one of the preceding five years. |
| What proves it? | The year’s annual loan statement or official interest record. | The original statement plus your ledger and prior-return records. |
| Can it be claimed again? | Only once, on the return where it is used. | No; subtract every amount already claimed. |
| Ordering rule | Added after older carry-forward balances are considered. | Oldest eligible year first. |
| Expiry risk | Begins its five-year window after the payment year. | Older balances may expire if not used within the window. |
What happens if you had no tax payable?
A non-refundable credit cannot be used to produce a payment when your tax payable is already zero. Instead, preserve the unused eligible amount and claim it in a later year within the five-year window.
Do not treat the carry-forward as permanent. Each interest year has its own deadline, and the oldest year must be used first. If you skip an older balance while using a newer one, you increase the risk that the older balance will expire unused.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Calling the credit an interest-rate reduction
The credit does not change the rate in your loan agreement, monthly payment schedule, or outstanding principal. It changes the tax calculation on your return.
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Claiming the payment instead of the interest
A loan payment usually contains principal and interest. Claim only the eligible interest shown in the official statement, not the total amount withdrawn from your bank account.
Letting a parent claim because the parent paid
Payment source does not decide eligibility. The legally responsible student or apprentice is the claimant.
Including private refinancing automatically
A transfer to a bank or a consolidation with other debt can break the qualifying-loan requirements. Review the new contract and interest statement before entering anything.
Using a court-awarded amount
Interest arising from a court judgment after a failure to repay is excluded under the CRA guidance.
Relying on the CRA to calculate the carry-forward
You are responsible for tracking unused amounts. Reconstruct the history from statements and prior returns before filing.
Using a form for the wrong jurisdiction
Outside Quebec, the provincial or territorial entry is on Form 428, line 58520. Quebec residents must follow Revenu Québec’s separate instructions for the Quebec return.
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Records to retain
Keep the annual loan statement, any T4A document or NSLSC statement, the calculation separating interest from principal, and your carry-forward ledger. Also retain copies of prior returns showing when an amount was claimed.
Electronic records are acceptable if they remain readable and can be produced with the related return. Label each file with the interest year and loan account so a 2020 statement is not confused with a 2025 statement.
When the loan history is complicated
Consolidation or reconsolidation
Ask whether the resulting debt is still issued under qualifying student-loan legislation and whether the annual statement identifies eligible interest separately. If the new balance combines a government loan with a line of credit, do not claim the combined interest without a clear eligible allocation.
Refinancing through a financial institution
Examine the refinancing documents and the original loan records. The fact that the proceeds paid off a government loan does not, by itself, establish that later interest qualifies.
Moving between provinces
Determine the province or territory relevant to the return and follow its form instructions. The federal eligibility test remains separate from provincial or territorial calculations.
Missing statements
Check the NSLSC account and contact the loan administrator for an annual statement. Do not estimate interest from total payments when an official record can be obtained.
A practical filing checklist
- Identify the tax year and obtain that year’s CRA instructions.
- Confirm that you are the borrower legally responsible for the loan.
- Confirm that the debt is a qualifying government student or apprentice loan.
- Separate eligible interest from principal and excluded charges.
- List unused amounts by original interest year.
- Remove every amount already claimed.
- Use the oldest remaining amount first.
- Enter the federal total on line 31900.
- Outside Quebec, enter the applicable amount on Form 428, line 58520.
- Use Revenu Québec’s instructions for the Quebec provincial return.
- Save statements, prior-return records, and the updated ledger.
Bottom line for avoiding expiry
Review your student-loan interest history every year, identify the oldest unused eligible amount, and apply it before newer amounts. For a 2025 return, report the federal claim on line 31900 and, outside Quebec, the provincial or territorial claim on Form 428 line 58520. Because the credit is non-refundable and carry-forwards last only five years, accurate records—not the date of the latest payment—determine whether an amount remains usable.
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