Home › How to claim the deduction
How to claim the deduction
You claim it on a new schedule with your vehicle’s VIN. For 2025, expect to total the interest yourself.
- Where: the new Schedule 1-A (“Additional Deductions”), Part IV, attached to Form 1040. Thomson Reuters
- VIN required: you enter the vehicle’s VIN on the return each year you claim it. RSM US
- No itemizing needed: it stacks on top of the standard deduction. IRS guidance
Form 1098-VLI (your lender’s statement)
Going forward, lenders that receive $600+ of qualifying interest from you must send Form 1098-VLI (“Vehicle Loan Interest Statement”) by January 31, reporting the interest and the VIN. IRS draft 1098-VLI
⚠
2025 is different. Under IRS Notice 2025-57, lenders are not required to file Form 1098-VLI for 2025 — they only have to make the interest total available to you. So for your 2025 return you may need to add up the interest yourself from your statements. Full 1098-VLI reporting starts with 2026. IRS transition relief
Records to keep
- Lender interest statement (or 2025 equivalent / payoff history)
- VIN + proof of U.S. assembly (NHTSA decoder result or window sticker)
- Loan docs showing post-Dec-31-2024 origination, first lien, and personal use CALT