@TurboTaxDeeS So I asked the same question on Sprintax, via "Ask Stacy", and they have a different response. So if I go to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
https://www.sprintax.com/meet-stacy.html">https://www.sprintax.com/meet-stacy.html</a> and type in "My student loan is from my home country, not from US, can I still claim it on my US tax return?", this is the response I get:
-------------------------------------------
No - an eligible student loan is only if it’s taken from a US bank account. To help you figure your student loan interest deduction, you should receive Form 1098-E, Student Loan Interest Statement. If you paid interest on a student loan in 2016, you may be able to deduct up to $2,500 of the interest you paid. Generally, you can claim the deduction if all the following requirements are met.
Your filing status is any filing status except married filing separately.
Your modified adjusted gross income is less than $80,000.
No one else is claiming an exemption for you on his or her 2016 tax return.
You paid interest on a loan taken out only to pay tuition and other qualified higher education expenses for yourself, your spouse, someone who was your dependent when the loan was taken out, or someone you could have claimed as a dependent for the year the loan was taken out except that:
The person filed a joint return,
The person had gross income that was equal to or more than the personal exemption amount for that year (for 2017 it is $4050), or
You could be claimed as a dependent on someone else's return.
The loan is not from a related person or a person who borrowed the proceeds under a qualified employer plan or a contract purchased under such a plan.
The education expenses were paid or incurred within a reasonable period of time before or after the loan was taken out.
The person for whom the expenses were paid or incurred was an eligible student.
If you have further questions please click here to chat live with the Sprintax team.
----------------------------------------------
This confuses me since TurboTax and Sprintax are partners, and yet I get opposing views. Could you kindly clarify?
Thanks,
Surag
