My taxes are asking if I made a qualified education loan payment in 2023. How do I know if I made qualified education loan payments in 2023 and what are they?

[rany2019]

I have been paying back monthly on my direct student loans and private but I don't know if Turbo tax is asking me about that or something else...

[TomK2023]

That's it.  Are you making student loan payments (e.g., to a financial institute... not your "Uncle jake").  

You can take a tax deduction for the interest paid on student loans that you took out for yourself, your spouse, or your dependent. This benefit applies to all loans (not just federal student loans) used to pay for higher education expenses. The maximum deduction is $2,500 a year.

@rany2019 

[Edited 3[/05/24 | 12:08pm PST]

[rany2019]

Okay, but it's asking the total amount of qualified student loans I used to pay for college. It won't let me enter an amount above $5,000. My loan amount I used was more than that, so am I doing this wrong or do I just enter $5,000?

[rany2019]

@TomK2023 Okay, but it's asking the total amount of qualified student loans I used to pay for college. It won't let me enter an amount above $5,000. My loan amount I used was more than that, so am I doing this wrong or do I just enter $5,000?

[AmyC]

The program entry is the name and interest paid. The student loan deduction is capped at $2,500 per taxpayer or $5,000 for MFJ. The tax form, Schedule 1, shows only the interest paid on line 21. Enter your student loan interest up to $2,500, for you.

The worksheet incudes the lenders name, borrower information, prior year interest paid and this year's interest. There is no place for the value of the loan on the worksheet or schedule.