Graduate students, alongside other people with education debt, were also up in arms over a proposal to eliminate the student loan interest deduction. The deduction lets people repaying student loans reduce their tax burden by as much as $2,500. Because borrowers can claim the deduction even if they choose not to itemize, the tax benefit is available to anyone paying interest on education debt. The higher the interest payments, the greater the deduction, which is why the benefit is especially valuable to people with large loan amounts, such as graduate students.