M1SLC: Student Loan Credit (2025)
Minnesota · Minnesota DOR · Used for tax years 2025
Schedule M1SLC calculates Minnesota’s 2025 Student Loan Credit using payments toward your own qualified education loans, income, and residency. The credit amount is reported on Schedule M1C, and this schedule is included when you file Form M1.
Who files this form
Use Schedule M1SLC to claim the 2025 Minnesota Student Loan Credit. You may be eligible if all of these are true:
- You had taxable earned income.
- You made payments toward your own qualified education loans in 2025.
- You were a full-year or part-year Minnesota resident.
Qualified education loans are loans used for the cost of attendance at an eligible postsecondary college or university. Loans from a relative or a qualified employer plan do not qualify.
What you'll need
Have these records and forms available:
- Your Social Security number and, if applicable, your spouse’s name and Social Security number.
- Records of your 2025 qualified loan payments, including principal and interest, and the original amount of your qualified education loans.
- Federal Form 1098-E, box 1, for interest paid in 2025.
- Form M1, line 1, for adjusted gross income.
- Federal Form W-2, box 1, and your net self-employment earnings information for earned income.
- Information about any employer reimbursements for your loan payments.
- Schedule M1NR if you are a part-year resident. Married part-year residents filing jointly must prepare a separate Schedule M1NR for each spouse who qualifies for the credit.
Save canceled checks and detailed payment records from the institution you pay. You may be asked to show them if there are questions.
How to file
- Complete Schedule M1SLC, using column A for the taxpayer and column B for the spouse, as applicable.
- If you are married filing jointly, complete the Worksheet for Line 2.
- Follow the line 14 instructions for your residency status. Married part-year residents filing jointly must use the Worksheet for Line 14.
- Add the line 14 amounts from columns A and B. Enter the total on line 15 and on line 9 of Schedule M1C.
- Include Schedule M1SLC when you file Form M1. Keep a copy for your records.
The supplied text does not give a mailing address or e-file directions.
Common mistakes
- Including someone else’s loans. Only your own qualified education loans count. On a joint return, report each spouse’s loan payments in the appropriate column.
- Counting employer-reimbursed payments incorrectly. Reduce payments by reimbursements through an employer-sponsored qualified educational assistance program under IRC section 127. Payments later reimbursed may be included if the reimbursements were included in adjusted gross income.
- Ignoring later reimbursements. If you already claimed the credit and later received reimbursements for payments used to calculate it, the instructions require Form M1X to recalculate the credit excluding reimbursed payments.
- Continuing after a stop instruction. Stop in a column if line 5 is zero or less. If earned income on line 6 is zero or less, you do not qualify.
- Using only the remaining loan balance. The line 7 instructions use the original qualified loan amount, including amounts already paid and not yet paid. The form limits line 7 to the lesser of that amount or $5,000.
- Skipping rounding or recordkeeping. Round amounts to the nearest whole dollar, save proof of payments, and keep a copy of the schedule.
Questions people ask
What is the maximum credit for 2025?
The maximum is $500 per person. The schedule’s calculations may result in a smaller credit.
Do principal payments count, or only interest?
Both principal and interest payments toward your own qualified education loans count on line 1.
Can I claim payments toward someone else’s loans?
No. The credit is based on eligible payments toward your own qualified education loans. For a joint return, enter the payments toward each spouse’s loans in that spouse’s column.
Can part-year Minnesota residents claim the credit?
Yes, if they qualify. Part-year residents who are not filing jointly multiply line 13 by line 30 of Schedule M1NR. Married part-year residents filing jointly follow the separate Schedule M1NR and Worksheet for Line 14 instructions.
Where can I get more information?
Visit www.revenue.state.mn.us, email individual.incometax@state.mn.us, or call 651-296-3781 or 1-800-652-9094.