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Policy and Advocacy Legislation Student Loans Personal Finance Letter to Legislator
Policy and Advocacy Legislation Student Loans Personal Finance Letter to Legislator

AccessLex Institute Supports Bill that Would Allow Borrowers to Deduct Student Loan Payments from Taxable Income 

The Honorable Jason Smith
Chairman
House Ways and Means Committee
1139 Longworth Houe Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Richard Neal
Ranking Member
House Ways and Means Committee
1139 Longworth Houe Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Neal:

AccessLex Institute® is pleased to offer its support for the Generating Relief for Academic Debt Using Assisted Tax Efficiency (GRADUATE) Act. Introduced on February 12, 2026 by Representatives Dan Goldman (D-NY-10) and Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), H.R. 7536 would help reduce the cost of higher education for struggling borrowers by allowing student loan borrowers to deduct their student loan payments, including accrued interest, from their taxable income.

AccessLex Institute, in partnership with its nearly 200 nonprofit and state-affiliated ABA-approved member law schools, has been committed to improving access to legal education and to maximizing the affordability and value of a law degree since 1983. The AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence® advocates for policies that make legal education work better for students and society alike and conducts research on the most critical issues facing legal education today.

The student loan interest tax deduction allows taxpayers to reduce their taxable income up to $2,500 on interest paid for qualified higher education loans. This deduction was created to ease the burden of rising education costs and encourage higher education attendance, but it has not been increased since 2001 despite the growing financial pressures facing today’s students. That is why AccessLex supports the GRADUATE Act which would allow borrowers to deduct up to $10,000 of student loan payments, including accrued interest, plus $500 for each dependent, from their taxable income.

By reducing the taxable income of those making student loan payments, the GRADUATE Act would offer critical support to borrowers struggling with high monthly payments, mounting interest, and long repayment timelines. At a time when student debt burdens have grown substantially due to rising tuition costs and cuts to federal education spending, increasing the student loan interest tax deduction will restore meaningful tax relief and align federal policy with the economic realities confronting today’s borrowers.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or Nancy Conneely, Managing Director of Policy, at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Christopher P. Chapman
President and Chief Executive Officer
 

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