I figured out my mistake here. I got confused by the following statement:
- Your adjusted gross income (AGI) is equal to the total income you report minus specific deductions, or adjustments, that you’re eligible to take.
In this case, "specific deductions" is not to be confused with "standard or itemized deductions", which is clarified by this statement:
- Your AGI is calculated before you take the standard or itemized deductions —which you report in later sections of your tax return.
Basically, I was confused by multiple uses for the word "deductions" when it really meant "Adjustments to Income" (even though it's still unclear to me whether Student Loan Interest is an adjustment or a deduction now).
Using these correct terms, it becomes clear that charitable contributions, mortgage interest, and other itemized deductions do not affect the AGI at all, so then I can see in my case that the AGI is above the limit to qualify here.
