first , what is your income?
the loan interest benefit "phases out" beginning at $70,000 and is gone at $85,000 (single). that means that the loan interest deduction is 'worthless' if your income is above $85,000. Plug in $140,000 and $170,000 if married to my earlier statement.
So let's say you are in the 12% tax bracket and you have $672 of student interest and you are below the numbers I state above. That means amending the tax return is work $81 on the federal tax return (and may have additional impact on the state return, depending on what state you live in).
So as stated, you are not required to amend and include the student loan deduction, but some may feel the benefit is worth it.
