The student loan interest deduction reduces your taxable income.
STUDENT LOAN INTEREST
Only the person whose name is on the student loan and who is legally obligated to pay the loan can deduct the student loan interest. If you did not sign or co-sign for the loan you cannot deduct the interest.
You cannot deduct student loan interest if you are being claimed as someone else’s dependent, or if you are filing as married filing separately.
The student loan interest deduction can reduce your taxable income by up to $2500
There is a phaseout for the Student loan interest deduction, which means the amount you can deduct gets reduced when your modified adjusted gross income hits certain income levels and is even eliminated at certain income levels -
•If your filing status is single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er), then the phaseout begins at $65,000 until $80,000, after which the deduction is eliminated entirely.
•If your filing status is married filing joint, then the phaseout beings at $130,000 until $160,000, after which the deduction is eliminated entirely.
Enter the interest you paid for your student loan by going to Federal>Deductions and Credits>Education>Student Loan Interest Paid in 2020 (Form 1098E)
Look on your 2020 Schedule 1 line 20 to see your student loan interest deduction
WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY? I WANT THE FREE EDITION
The information that you can enter in Free Edition is pretty limited now. Thanks to the new tax laws that began for 2018 returns, there are no more simple Form 1040EZ or 1040A's. Everything goes on a Form 1040 that has three extra "schedules" with it, and if you need any of those schedules, you are not able to use the Free Edition. Using the standard deduction instead of itemizing does NOT mean you will not need any of those schedules.https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4511011-what-happened-to-the-1040a-and-1040ez If you started in the Free Edition and entered any data that required any of those three schedules, you have to upgrade to a paid version. The Free Edition cannot be used for self-employment income, investment income, rental income or a student loan interest deduction,
https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-1040
If you qualify to use it, there is another full-featured free version of the software:
Try Free File:
You qualify if your income was $39,000 or less, or $72,000 or less if active duty military, or if you qualify for Earned Income Credit
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1900583-what-is-turbotax-free-file-program
Note: If you do not qualify to use Free File then you will have to upgrade to Deluxe or higher in the paid versions of the software.
Online Deluxe $40 State software $40
Or—-Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free
https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/
If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons:
**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**
