New Vehicle Loan Interest Deduction

 

I have been looking at individual tax changes for 2025 returns as well as changes starting anew in 2026. We may do several posts covering the changes likely to affect the most people.

I will start with one that may affect me: the new vehicle loan interest deduction.

My car has been reliable, but it is getting old. There comes a point with older cars where regular maintenance instead changes to regular repairs. I may or may not be there yet, but I am paying attention. What I know is the next car will not be cheap.

So, what is the tax change?

First, it is a deduction, not a credit. As we have discussed before, a credit is worth more than a deduction (a credit is dollar-for-dollar, whereas a deduction is a dollar-times-the-tax-rate). We will take it, though.

Second, it is not an itemized deduction. This is important, because introducing something as an itemized deduction is as much political sleight-of-hand as a real tax break. How? Easy. Let’s say that you are married, and the sum of your taxes, mortgage interest, and contributions is $25 grand. The tax Code spots you $31,500 just for being married (this amount is called the standard deduction). Which number will you use: the actual ($25,000) or the standard ($31,500)? The standard, of course, because it is the bigger deduction. Now someone can yammer that your mortgage interest is deductible – but is it really? I would argue that it is not, because the $31,500 is available whether you have a mortgage or not. Calling it deductible does allow for political blather, though.

The vehicle loan interest deduction is taken in addition to the itemized/standard deduction. It will show up on line 13b (see below), after the standard deduction/itemized deductions on line 12e. Our married couple will be deducting $31,500 (the standard) plus the allowable new vehicle loan interest.

Third, the deduction is not limited to cars. Technically it applies to “qualified passenger vehicles,” a term that includes the usual suspects (cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, minivans) as well as motorcycles. I am not as clear on campers, although the 14,000-pound limitation might kick-in there.

Fourth, it must be a new vehicle, which the Code refers to as “original use.” Not surprisingly, there is a special rule to exclude dealership demo use.

Fifth, you must have bought the vehicle after 2024. The deduction expires (unless a future Congress extends it) after 2028. Note that I said “bought.” A lease will not work.

Sixth, the deduction is for personal use of the vehicle, and the personal use must exceed 50 percent. While this may sound strict, it is not. Deductions for business use of a vehicle might take place under other areas of the tax Code, so it is possible that you will be deducting some of the interest as a business deduction (say as a proprietor or landlord) and the personal portion under this new deduction. You decide how to chop-up and report the numbers (some business, none business), and you cannot deduct the same interest twice. The behind-the-scenes accounting might be a mess, but you have the concept. There is also a favorable rule concerning personal use: such use is decided when you buy the vehicle. Later changes in use will be disregarded.

Seventh, the deduction is available to individuals, decedent estates, (certain) disregarded entities and nongrantor trusts. An estate is not immediately intuitive (why would a deceased person buy a vehicle?), but it refers to someone passing away after buying a vehicle qualifying for the deduction. A nongrantor trust generally means a trust that files its own tax return. Personal use would be measured by the beneficiary, as a trust cannot drive a car.

Eighth, there are some housecleaning rules. For example, you cannot pay interest to yourself or – more accurately stated – to a related party. The Code wants to see a lien securing the loan on the vehicle. There are also rules on add-ons (think extended warranties), lemon law replacements, subsequent loan refinancings, and no-no rules on negative equity on trade-ins.

Ninth, final assembly must occur in the United States. You may want to check on this before buying the vehicle. I have already checked on my next likely vehicle purchase (a Lexus).

Tenth, the deduction limit is $10 grand. It doesn’t matter if you are married or single, the limit applies per return and is $10 grand. Seems to me that marrieds filing separately got a break here. File jointly and cap at $10 grand. File separately and cap at $20 grand. Such moments are rare in the tax Code.

Eleventh, if you make too much money, the Code will phase-out the deduction you could otherwise claim. Too much begins at $100 grand if you are single or $200 grand if you are married filing jointly. Hit that limit and you phase-out at 20 cents on the dollar (rounded up).

Twelfth, you must include the vehicle VIN on your tax return. Leave it out and the IRS will simply disallow the deduction and send you a bill for the additional tax.

Finally, Congress and the IRS prefer that anything which moves be reported on a Form 1099. The problem here is that the tax bill was signed midway into 2025, meaning that banks and loan companies would have to make retroactive changes for 1099s issued in 2026. In light of this, the 2026 reporting (for tax year 2025) has been relaxed a bit: you may have to go to a website to get the interest amount rather than receiving a formal 1099, for example. Do not worry, though: the normal 1099 reporting will be back in full force in 2027 (for the 2026 tax returns).

My thoughts? I would neither buy or not buy a vehicle because of this deduction, but I am happy to take the deduction if I bought and financed. The $10 grand limit seems high to me, but - to be fair - I avoid borrowing money. I suppose $10 grand might be a backdoor way to allow for two vehicle loans on the same tax return (think married filing jointly). I do know that - unless one is making beaucoup bucks - spending $10 grand on vehicle interest does not immediately appear to be sound household budgeting.

And there you have the new vehicle loan interest deduction.

New York And State Donation Programs

You may have read that the new tax law will limit your itemized tax deduction beginning this year (2018).

This is of no concern to you if you do not itemize deductions on your personal return.

If you do itemize, then this might be a concern.

Here is the calculation:

        *  state income taxes plus

        *  local income taxes plus

        *  real estate taxes plus

        *  personal property taxes

There is a spiff in there if you live in a state without an income tax, but let’s skip that for now.

You have a sum. You next compare that sum to $10,000, and

… you take the smaller number. That is the maximum you can deduct.

Folks, if you live in New Jersey odds are that real estate taxes on anything is going to be at least $10 grand. That leaves you with no room to deduct New Jersey income taxes. You have maxed.

Same for New York, Connecticut, California and other high tax states.

Governor Cuomo said the new tax law would “destroy” New York.

Stepping around the abuse of the language, New York did put out an idea – two, in fact:

·       Establish a charitable fund to which one could make payments in lieu of state income taxes. When preparing one’s individual tax return, one could treat contributions to that fund as state taxes paid. To make this plausible, New York would not make the ratio one-to-one. For example, if you paid $100 to the charitable fund, your state tax credit might be $90. Surely no one would then argue that you had magically converted your taxes into a charitable deduction. The only one on the short end is the IRS, but hey … New York.

·      Have employers pay a new payroll tax on employee compensation, replacing employee withholding on that compensation.  Of course, to get this to work the employee would probably have to reduce his/her pay, as the employer is not going to keep his/her salary the same and pay this new tax.

Other states put out ideas, by the way. New York was not alone.

I somewhat like the second idea. I do however see the issue with subsequent raises (a smaller base means a smaller raise), possibly reduced social security benefits, possible employer reluctance to hire, and the psychological punch of taking a cut in pay. Ouch.

The first idea however has a sad ending.

You see, many states for many years thought that there were good causes that they were willing to subsidize.

·       Indiana has the School Scholarship Credit. You donate to a scholarship-granting charity and Indiana gives you a tax credit equal to 50% of the donation on your personal return.

·       South Carolina has something similar (the Exceptional SC), but the state tax credit is 100%.

New York and its cohorts saw these and said “What is the difference between what Indiana or South Carolina is doing and what we are proposing?”

Well, for one thing money is actually going to a charitable cause, but let’s continue.

This past summer the IRS pointed out the obvious: there was no charity under New York’s plan., The person making the “donation” was simultaneously receiving a tax benefit. That is hardly the hallmark of a charitable contribution.

Wait, wait, New York said. We are not giving him/her a dollar-for-dollar credit, so …..

Fine, said the IRS. Here is what you do. Subtract the credit from the “donation.” We will allow the difference as a deductible contribution.

In fact, continued the IRS, if the spread is 15% or less, we will spot you the full donation. You do not have to reduce the deduction for the amount you get back. We can be lenient.

So what have New York and cohorts done to Indiana, to South Carolina and other states with similar programs?

You got it: they have blown up their donation programs.

Way to go.

Why did the IRS not pursue this issue before?

Well, before it did not matter whether one considered the donation to be a tax or a deductible contribution. Both were deductible as itemized deductions. There was no vig for the IRS to chase.

This changed when deductible taxes were limited to $10,000. Now there was vig.

There are about 30 states with programs like Indiana and South Carolina, so do not be surprised if this reaches back to you.