One option many people turn to for covering living expenses or large purchases is a personal loan.
A benefit of taking out a personal loan is that they tend to have lower interest rates than credit cards, making them a more budget-friendly choice for borrowing money.
Although every lender has its own limits on loan size, you can generally apply for up to one hundred thousand dollars for a personal loan.
This should be enough to allow many people to handle paying for large expenditures such as unexpected medical bills or repairs to their property.
However, like any other type of credit, personal loans need to be repaid with interest. The longer the duration of your loan, the more interest you will end up paying throughout the loan’s lifetime.
For certain types of loans, like a mortgage, the interest on the loan is tax deductible. But does that apply to personal loans?
Below, we’ll answer the common question, is personal loan interest tax-deductible?
Is Personal Loan Interest Tax-Deductible?
No, most of the time, you cannot deduct your taxes on the interest of your personal loan. Generally, personal loan interests are not tax-deductible.
The interest you pay on a personal loan is typically not deductible from your taxable income.
For instance, say you take out a loan to finance the purchase of a car for your own use or pay for any other personal expenses. The interest you pay on that loan will not reduce the amount of taxes you owe. Similarly, the interest paid on balances carried over from credit cards is typically not tax-deductible.
When taking out a loan for your use, though, there are a few exclusions here and there that you might be able to take advantage of. If you use the loan for specific reasons and meet all qualifying requirements, you may be eligible to get a tax deduction.
What Qualifies As Tax-Deductible?
If you use your loan to pay for college fees or business expenses, the government may allow you to deduct the interest from your taxes.
Even if the loan wasn’t obtained through the federal government, the interest you pay on a loan that was used to pay for higher education might qualify as tax-deductible, as stated on the website for the Federal Student Aid program.
If any or all of the interest on a personal loan is related to one of the following, then you might be entitled to deduct that interest from your taxes:
- Business expenses
- Qualified higher-education expenses
- Taxable investments
Self-employed people often have trouble getting business loans. If you use a personal loan for a small business, you can deduct the interest on your taxes. Business expenses can include things like website creation, inventory, and marketing.
If you use a personal loan to pay for college tuition, fees, and necessary activity costs, it may be considered an eligible student loan. Therefore, you may be able to deduct all the interest you paid for the year.
If you invest your loan money in stocks, mutual funds, or bonds, you may be eligible to deduct the interest. Short-term or long-term capital gains may have tax repercussions, and you’ll need to itemize your deductions to take advantage of this deduction, which isn’t usual.
Before applying for and accepting a personal loan, be sure to read the conditions of use carefully.
To sum it up, personal loan interests are only tax-deductible in certain situations.
