Great question. Student loan borrowers should expect a smaller tax refund this year for a variety of reasons. For example, student loan borrowers won’t receive the typical student loan interest deduction because they obviously didn’t pay any interest in 2021! And any borrowers who claimed the monthly Advance Child Tax Credit are unlikely to see a large tax credit when they file since this was credited earlier in the year.
This is important to keep in mind as student loan payments are due again because many borrowers might be expecting a savings cushion in the form of a tax return — but that is unlikely to transpire in 2022.