All Posts

I manually completed Schedule 1-A, and no deduction is available. The TurboTax form is confusing. Congrats! you get a deduction of $0 is not useful. Here is everything I found for anyone else who may be confused.   “No Tax on Car Loan Interest” New deduction: Effective for 2025 through 2028, individuals may deduct interest paid on a loan used to purchase a qualified vehicle, provided the vehicle is purchased for personal use and meets other eligibility criteria. (Lease payments do not qualify.) Maximum annual deduction is $10,000. Deduction phases out for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income over $100,000 ($200,000 for joint filers). Qualified interest: To qualify for the deduction, the interest must be paid on a loan that is: originated after December 31, 2024, used to purchase a vehicle, the original use of which starts with the taxpayer (used vehicles do not qualify), for a personal use vehicle (not for business or commercial use) and secured by a lien on the vehicle. If a qualifying vehicle loan is later refinanced, interest paid on the refinanced amount is generally eligible for the deduction. Qualified vehicle: A qualified vehicle is a car, minivan, van, SUV, pick-up truck or motorcycle, with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds, and that has undergone final assembly in the United States. Final assembly in the United States: The location of final assembly will be listed on the vehicle information label attached to each vehicle on a dealer's premises. Alternatively, taxpayers may rely on the vehicle’s plant of manufacture as reported in the vehicle identification number (VIN) to determine whether a vehicle has undergone final assembly in the United States. The VIN Decoder website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides plant of manufacture information. Taxpayers can follow the instructions on that website to determine if the vehicle’s plant of manufacture was located in the United States. Taxpayer eligibility: Deduction is available for both itemizing and non-itemizing taxpayers. The taxpayer must include the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) of the qualified vehicle on the tax return for any year in which the deduction is claimed Reporting: Lenders or other recipients of qualified interest must file information returns with the IRS and furnish statements to taxpayers showing the total amount of interest received during the taxable year. Guidance: The IRS will provide transition relief for tax year 2025 for interest recipients subject to the new reporting requirements One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act: Tax deductions for working Americans and seniors | Internal Revenue Service   Here is a link to the Schedule 1-A form 2025 Schedule 1-A (Form 1040)

Only your employer can provide your W-2.  Contact them.   Some employers allow turbotax to access the data and download it, I don't know if HP is one of them, or how you would validate security (that you are who you say you are).  If the W-2 is available in Turbotax that is usually not until the end of the month. 

If there is something in your return that is triggering the form, it will keep being recreated.   Did you have excess contributions on your 2024 return?  The form will be needed in 2025 to either close out the penalty or carry it forward.  Did you enter a 1099-R when your age is less than 59-1/2?  That will trigger the form unless you meet certain conditions that you note in the interview on the followup questions  (if you enter the 1099 and then immediately skip to something else, you might miss important followup questions). 

@DoninGA wrote: they would not have any taxes owed if their unearned plus earned income for the year was $15,750 or less.   That is not true.  With over $1350 of interest, there will be tax due.   As for the original question, in most cases claiming it on the parents' return is easier but often results in a little more tax.  Having the child file their own tax return definitely takes more work, but will usually save a little tax.  

HOW CAN I DOWNGRADE TO A LOWER VERSION https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/change-service-level/downgrade-lower-priced-version-turbotax-online/L2IDaMvkt_US_en_US?uid=m6ilzady   Did you enter some income or information that is not supported by the Free Edition---which can only be used if you have a  very simple Form 1040 with no extra forms or schedules?   The information that you can enter in Free Edition is pretty limited now.  Thanks to the tax laws that began for 2018 returns, there are no more simple Form 1040EZ or 1040A's.  Everything goes on a Form 1040 that has three extra "schedules" with it, and if you need any of those schedules, you are not able to use the Free Edition.  Using the standard deduction instead of itemizing does NOT mean you will not need any of those schedules.   If you started in the Free Edition and entered any data that required any extra forms or schedules, you have to upgrade to a paid version and if you are watching the screens carefully you are alerted to the upgrade.       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  1095A for marketplace health insurance     How can I see my TurboTax  fees?  https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/intuit-account-billing/review-fees-turbotax-online/L1XnIzgzg_US_en_US?uid=m682vq7k   If your TurboTax fees are higher than expected, you can reduce them by removing add-ons     (BEFORE you e-file) :   Remove Premium Services Remove MAX Defend & Restore Remove a state Remove PLUS Help & Support Remove Pay With Your Refund     Or—-Use this IRS site for other ways to file for free.  There are 8  free software versions available from the IRS Free File site   https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/