What is a 1098-E form used for?

Form 1098-E reports the student loan interest you paid during the year. You use the amount in Box 1 to claim the student loan interest deduction, which can lower your taxable income by up to $2,500 annually. Your servicer files a copy with the IRS, so the figures should match your return.

How do I get my student loan interest statement?

Your loan servicer sends Form 1098-E by January 31 if you paid $600 or more in interest. You can also download it by logging into your servicer's website — companies like MOHELA, Nelnet, or Aidvantage — under their tax documents section. You don't need a physical copy to file; you only need the exact interest amount.

Do I have to report 1098-E on my taxes?

You don't have to use it, but you usually want to. The 1098-E isn't a required attachment, but the Box 1 interest amount lets you claim the student loan interest deduction. If you skip it, you forgo a deduction worth up to $2,500 against your taxable income, subject to income phase-outs.

Why didn't I get a 1098-E this year?

Servicers are only required to send a 1098-E when you pay $600 or more in interest to them during the year. If you paid less, deferred payments, or were in a 0% interest period, you may not receive one. You can still claim a deduction by checking the interest total in your servicer's online account.

What is Box 1 on the 1098-E?

Box 1 shows the total student loan interest your lender received from you during the calendar year. It's the single most important figure on the form — the amount you enter on your federal return to claim the student loan interest deduction. It may include capitalized interest and loan origination fees.

Can I get more than one 1098-E?

Yes. You receive a separate 1098-E from each servicer that collected $600 or more in interest. If your loans are split across multiple companies, or a loan was sold mid-year, you may get several statements. Add up Box 1 from all of them when claiming the deduction.

Tax

Form 1098-E (Student Loan Interest Statement)

Form 1098-E, the Student Loan Interest Statement, is an IRS form your loan servicer sends when you pay $600 or more in student loan interest during the year. Box 1 reports the total interest received, which you may be able to deduct on your federal tax return.

Loan servicers must send Form 1098-E to any borrower who paid $600 or more in student loan interest, and the deduction is capped at $2,500 per year.

Source: IRS — Topic No. 456

Written & maintained by the Granite team · Last updated June 2026

Overview

Form 1098-E is a federal tax document that reports the amount of interest you paid on qualified student loans during the calendar year. Lenders and loan servicers are required to issue it when a borrower pays $600 or more in interest to that servicer, and to furnish it by January 31. The single dollar figure that matters most sits in Box 1.

The form is issued by the lender or servicer holding your loan — companies like Nelnet, MOHELA, Aidvantage, or a bank — and sent to the borrower (and the IRS). You use the Box 1 amount to claim the student loan interest deduction, an above-the-line deduction that can reduce your taxable income by up to $2,500 per year, subject to modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) limits. You can't claim it if you file married filing separately.

When you’ll get your Form 1098-E (Student Loan Interest Statement)

You paid $600 or more in interest on a qualified student loan to a single servicer during the tax year
Your loan servicer is required to report the interest to you and the IRS by January 31
You're preparing your federal return and want to claim the student loan interest deduction
You have loans split across multiple servicers and receive a separate 1098-E from each that you paid $600+ in interest to
Your loan was sold or transferred mid-year, generating statements from both the old and new servicer

What’s on your Form 1098-E (Student Loan Interest Statement)

These are the fields Granite reads and extracts automatically the moment you upload one.

Lender / Servicer Name: The company that holds or services your loan and issued the statement — for example Nelnet, MOHELA, or Aidvantage.
Lender's TIN: The servicer's federal Taxpayer Identification Number (usually shown as a 9-digit EIN).
Borrower's Name: Your name exactly as it appears on the loan account.
Borrower's SSN / TIN: Your Social Security number, almost always masked to the last few digits on the printed form.
Box 1 — Student Loan Interest Received: The total interest the lender received from you during the year. This is the number you enter on your return for the deduction; it can include capitalized interest and loan origination fees.
Account Number: Your loan or account number, commonly masked. Helps you match the statement to the correct loan when you have several.

How long to keep it

At least 4 years

Keep each year's 1098-E for at least three years after you file the return that claims the deduction (the IRS audit window), and four to be safe. If you carry the same loans for a decade, a complete run of statements is the only proof of how much interest you actually deducted over time.

How Granite handles your Form 1098-E (Student Loan Interest Statement)

Drop your 1098-E into Granite and it recognizes the Student Loan Interest Statement automatically — pulling out the servicer name, tax year, and the Box 1 interest amount without you typing anything. It files the form into your Tax {year} collection and groups it with every other statement from the same lender, so a borrower juggling Nelnet, MOHELA, and Aidvantage sees all three side by side. Search '1098-E' or 'student loan interest' and the right year surfaces instantly at tax time.

FAQ

Form 1098-E (Student Loan Interest Statement): common questions

What is a 1098-E form used for?: Form 1098-E reports the student loan interest you paid during the year. You use the amount in Box 1 to claim the student loan interest deduction, which can lower your taxable income by up to $2,500 annually. Your servicer files a copy with the IRS, so the figures should match your return.
How do I get my student loan interest statement?: Your loan servicer sends Form 1098-E by January 31 if you paid $600 or more in interest. You can also download it by logging into your servicer's website — companies like MOHELA, Nelnet, or Aidvantage — under their tax documents section. You don't need a physical copy to file; you only need the exact interest amount.
Do I have to report 1098-E on my taxes?: You don't have to use it, but you usually want to. The 1098-E isn't a required attachment, but the Box 1 interest amount lets you claim the student loan interest deduction. If you skip it, you forgo a deduction worth up to $2,500 against your taxable income, subject to income phase-outs.
Why didn't I get a 1098-E this year?: Servicers are only required to send a 1098-E when you pay $600 or more in interest to them during the year. If you paid less, deferred payments, or were in a 0% interest period, you may not receive one. You can still claim a deduction by checking the interest total in your servicer's online account.
What is Box 1 on the 1098-E?: Box 1 shows the total student loan interest your lender received from you during the calendar year. It's the single most important figure on the form — the amount you enter on your federal return to claim the student loan interest deduction. It may include capitalized interest and loan origination fees.
Can I get more than one 1098-E?: Yes. You receive a separate 1098-E from each servicer that collected $600 or more in interest. If your loans are split across multiple companies, or a loan was sold mid-year, you may get several statements. Add up Box 1 from all of them when claiming the deduction.

Sources

This page is checked against primary and authoritative sources:

Keep your Form 1098-E (Student Loan Interest Statement) in one place.

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