--- title: CARES Act Provides Student Loan Assistance description: Employers can temporarily make tax free payments up up to $5,250 toward their employees' student loans. This period runs from March 27 - December 31, 2020. image: https://blog.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/student%20loans%20B.jpg --- ![CARES Act Provides Student Loan Assistance](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/student%20loans%20B.jpg) # CARES Act Provides Student Loan Assistance - Home - [Employee Benefit News for School, City and County Employers](https://blog.nisbenefits.com) - CARES Act Provides Student Loan Assistance [ Rick Labian ](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/author/rick-labian) 05/12/2020 [ Legislative News](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/topic/aca-other-legislative-news), [ COVID-19](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/topic/covid-19) [0 Comments ](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/cares-act-provides-student-loan-assistance#postComment) 1 Minutes *1.5 minute read* The [CARES Act](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/new-cares-act-provides-2-2-trillion-in-federal-funding) has a provision which is aimed at easing student loan burdens during the coronavirus pandemic. Qualified student loan payments are temporarily added as acceptable tax-free contributions to education-related employee benefits. Employers can make tax-free payments of up to $5,250 toward their employees’ student loans. Employer payments toward the qualified education loans can be excluded from the employee’s taxable income between March 27, 2020 through December 31, 2020, resulting in tax advantages for both parties. Employer contributions made outside that time frame or in excess of the limit are generally considered taxable wages subject to all employment taxes. Currently, employers can pay up to $5,250 per year toward an employee’s education expenses (textbooks, tuition, etc.) on a tax-free basis. This means that employers can provide each employee with up to the maximum in either education-related expenses, student loan payments, or a combination of both for a limited time. Employers should become familiar with this temporary change and consider establishing/amending any written education assistance programs to take advantage of the favorable tax treatment for contributions toward their employees’ student loans. [Download the bulletin](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/Blog%20-%20supporting%20documents/bulletin%20-%20CARES%20Act%20Allows%20Tax-free%20Student%20Loan%20Assistance.pdf) for more details. [![Guide to Insurance Committees](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3325505/d8b53963-cf99-417f-95a7-354ae3b9fe86.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3325505/d8b53963-cf99-417f-95a7-354ae3b9fe86) *This blog is intended to be a compilation of information and resources pulled from federal, state and local agencies. This is not intended to be legal advice. For up to the minute information and guidance on COVID-19, please follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and your local health organizations.* --- #### Tag: [ Legislative News](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/topic/aca-other-legislative-news) [ COVID-19](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/topic/covid-19) #### Share: - [Follow us on Facebook ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://blog.nisbenefits.com/cares-act-provides-student-loan-assistance) - [Follow us on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.nisbenefits.com/cares-act-provides-student-loan-assistance&text=CARES%20Act%20Provides%20Student%20Loan%20Assistance) - [Follow us on Linkedin ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.nisbenefits.com/cares-act-provides-student-loan-assistance) - [Follow us on Pinterest ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://blog.nisbenefits.com/cares-act-provides-student-loan-assistance&text=CARES%20Act%20Provides%20Student%20Loan%20Assistancedescription=1.5%20minute%20read%20The%20CARES%20Act%20has%20a%20provision%20which%20is%20aimed%20at%20easing%20student%20loan%20burdens%20during%20the%20coronavirus%20pandemic.%20Qualified%20student%20loan%20payments[...]&media=https://info.nisbenefits.com/hubfs/student%20loans%20B.jpg) --- [ #### Qualifying Medical Expenses Definition Expanded by CARES Act ##### Previous Post ](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/qualifying-medical-expenses-definition-expanded-cares-act) [#### IRS Provides More Options for Unused Funds in Health FSAs and DCAPs ##### Next Post ](https://blog.nisbenefits.com/more-options-unused-funds-health-fsas-dcaps) ### Leave a Reply This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - 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