Should I need to upgrade to a paid TurboTax filing plan because I have student loan interest, or is this covered in simple filing?

[justinadianne]

When I had entered all of my information, I was told I, “need to upgrade to Deluxe,” because I have student loan interest. I thought this was covered in the free version of TurboTax, and it is listed under free features when I click for more details. Can I still file for free? How?

[xmasbaby0]

You can enter student loan interest using the Free Edition.  You do not have to upgrade for that.  

TurboTax Online: Important Details about Filing Simple Form 1040 Returns

If you have a simple Form 1040 return only (no forms or schedules except as needed to claim the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit or student loan interest), you can file for free yourself with TurboTax Free Edition, or you can file with TurboTax Live Assisted Basic at the listed price. Roughly 37% of taxpayers are eligible.

Examples of situations included in a simple Form 1040 return (assuming no added tax complexity):

• W-2 income
• Interest, dividends or original issue discounts (1099-INT/1099-DIV/1099-OID) that don’t require filing a Schedule B
• IRS standard deduction
• Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• Child Tax Credit (CTC)
• Student loan interest deduction
• Taxable qualified retirement plan distributions
•  

Examples of situations not included in a simple Form 1040 return:

• Itemized deductions claimed on Schedule A, like charitable contributions, medical expenses, mortgage interest and state and local tax deductions
• Unemployment income reported on a 1099-G
• Business or 1099-NEC income (often reported by those who are self-employed, gig workers or freelancers)
• Stock sales (including crypto investments)
• Income from rental property or property sales
• Credits, deductions and income reported on other forms or schedules 

[broman235]

Hi, I am in the exact same situation as justinadianne (above) for my daughter's return (jroman679). TurboTax is telling me that I must upgrade to TurboTax Do It Yourself Deluxe in order to file because "You have student loan interest." Your answer says I shouldn't have to do that because it's included, but there is no alternative offered. How do we resolve this and get back to the TurboTax Do It Yourself Free Edition? Thanks!

[DoninGA]

@broman235 The TurboTax online Free edition supports entry of the Form 1098-E for student loan interest.

Go to this website for the Free edition, scroll down the page and click on Tax Forms, enter 1098-E and it will show which online editions support the Form 1098-E - https://turbotax.intuit.com/personal-taxes/online/free-edition.jsp#tax-forms

[broman235]

Yes, I am using a qualifying Free Edition, but I still get that upgrade message. Could this actually be due to something else? I suspect that the real problem may be the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit, because I got a message about that requiring Deluxe a while ago, but it did not reappear.

[DoninGA]

@broman235 Yes, if you have entered contributions to a retirement fund, you would be eligible for the Saver's Credit which does require an upgrade to the Deluxe edition.  If you do not want this credit then change your occupation to Student and you will not be required to use the Deluxe edition.

[broman235]

I cleared the Savings Credit and I selected "Yes" for Student, but I'm still getting the same upgrade message. Now what? Do I need to wipe it out and start over (uggghh)? Is there any way to save out my data at this point, the .tax file is probably not there yet.

[DoninGA]

@broman235 Unfortunately you will have to clear the tax return and start over.

If you have not paid for the online edition you are using, have not filed your tax return or registered the Free edition, then you can clear your return and start over with a lower priced edition. Click on Switch Products on the lower left side of the program screen while working on the 2025 online tax return. Click on Clear & Start Over

[rjs]

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@broman235 wrote:

the .tax file is probably not there yet.

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The .tax file is there as soon as you enter anything. That's where TurboTax saves everything that you enter.

[Jj_7]

I have the same issue. Although you and several pages on the TurboTax website say that student loan interest should be covered, I cannot complete my taxes because I cannot bypass the screen in the image that pops up stating that I must upgrade because of student loan interest. 

[MarilynG1]

Try closing the program, clear your Cache and Cookies, reopen TurboTax and click into some other area besides the one you were in.  You can access Student Loan Interest from the Deductions topics page.

@Jj_7