Form 1098-E on Tax Return
Where to enter Form 1098-E on a federal income tax return? If you’re the recipient of Form 1098-E, you will see the total amount of interest paid for your student loan, during the tax year. Form 1098-E is much different than 1098-T, which reports tuition. If you’re looking for information about your tuition, you won’t see any relevant information on Form 1098-E, as it only reports the interest paid on your student loan.
After getting your 1098-E, there is only one thing you can utilize it for, and that’s to claim the student loan interest deduction. While it’s a common deduction claimed by thousands of students with a private student loan, you may wonder where to claim the 1098-E information on your tax return.
Claiming student loan interest deduction
The student loan interest paid is completely deductible from your gross income. The best part about this deduction is that you don’t even need to itemize. You can claim the student loan interest deduction while taking the standard deduction on 1040.
Fill out Schedule 1, Additional Income and Adjustments to Income, the tax form you use for figuring out adjusted gross income. Since Schedule 1 has nothing to do with your itemized deductions, you can claim the student loan interest alongside the standard deduction. For the 2024 tax season, the standard deduction is set as $12,550 for single filers, double that for joint filers, and $18,650 for the heads of households. Enter the money amount on Form 1098-E as exactly shown on Schedule 1 and attach them to your federal income tax return along with other tax forms used.
Maximum student loan interest deduction
The maximum student loan interest deduction you can write off on your tax return is $2,500. There are no income limits as to how much you can deduct.
Also, take note that the student loan interest deduction is not exactly a deduction as it’s on Schedule 1. So it’s rather an adjustment to your income that will reduce adjusted gross income, which can help you qualify for further deductions and credits.
