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Level 1
posted Mar 16, 2020 2:17:00 PM

For the CA Student Loan Interest Deduction, is there a maximum amount of interest I can claim, or do I use the federally adjusted amount as the max I can claim?

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1 Replies
Expert Alumni
Mar 16, 2020 2:42:04 PM

California conforms to federal law regarding the student loan interest deduction (max of $2500) except for a spouse/registered domestic partner of a non-California domiciled military taxpayer residing in a community property state. As long as the italicized part of the sentence does not apply to you, you will enter your student loan interest in the federal section of the return, and it will automatically carry over to the CA return. 

 

Here's how to enter your student loan interest. Follow these instructions whether or not you received a 1098-E from your lender:

  1. Open (continue) your return in TurboTax if you don't already have it open.
  2. Search for 1098-E (upper- or lower-case, with or without the dash).
  3. Select the Jump to link in the search results.
  4. Answer Yes to the question Did you pay any student loans?
    • If you land on the Here's your 1098-E info (or Here's what you paid in student loan interest)screen, you can either edit an existing payment or add a new one.
  5. Follow the onscreen instructions.