Form 1098-VLI, explained

Form 1098-VLI - the Vehicle Loan Interest Statement - is the new lender form for the car loan interest deduction. It is the car-loan equivalent of the mortgage interest statement you may already know. Here is what it does and does not tell you.

Who sends one, and when

A lender that receives $600 or more of interest from you during the year on a loan that can be a qualifying vehicle loan has to send you a Form 1098-VLI. It is filed with the IRS too, so the interest figure on your return should match theirs.

What it tells you - and what it does not

The form reports the interest, and it identifies the loan and the vehicle. It cannot tell you whether your vehicle qualifies. Only three things decide that, and none of them come from the lender:

• the vehicle's final assembly point (a VIN check or the window sticker);
• its GVWR (the door-jamb label);
• that you bought it new for personal use with a loan incurred after December 31, 2024.

In other words, the form gives you the number; our VIN checker and the six-point checklist give you the eligibility.

If you do not have the figure

1. Look at your lender's annual statement or online account. Many lenders show "interest paid this year" in the same place as your remaining balance.
2. Add up the interest portions of the payments made in the calendar year. Interest is attributed to the year the payment is made, not the year the loan started.
3. Use our calculator. It produces the same figure from the amount financed, the APR and the term, and it shows the schedule month by month.
4. Ask your lender. They have to be able to tell you the total interest paid, even under the 2025 relief.

Where the number goes

The interest figure becomes the starting point of Schedule 1-A, Part IV, and it is capped at $10,000 for the year. Our guide to Schedule 1-A walks through lines 22 to 30 one at a time.

Common questions

My lender never sent me a Form 1098-VLI for 2025. Did I do something wrong?

No. For 2025 the IRS gave lenders transition relief (Notice 2025-57): instead of issuing the new form, a lender can simply make the total interest you paid available to you - for example on your annual statement or in your online account. If you cannot find the figure, add up the interest portions of your monthly payments, or ask your lender for the total interest paid in the year.

Who has to send a Form 1098-VLI?

Lenders that receive at least $600 of interest from you on a qualifying vehicle loan during the year. Below that threshold no statement is required, though you can still deduct the interest if the other tests are met.

Do I attach the form to my return?

No. Keep it with your records. The figure goes on Schedule 1-A, Part IV as the interest you paid, and you report the VIN there as well.

What if the form shows more interest than the calculator says?

The form wins. It is the lender's record of interest actually paid - including any extra payments, late charges or a payoff that changed the schedule. Use the "I already know the interest I paid" boxes in our calculator.

Sources for this guide

1. IRS Notice 2025-57 (2025 lender reporting transition relief) and Form 1098-VLI, Vehicle Loan Interest Statement — accessed 2026-10-07.
2. T.D. 10054, final regulations under 26 CFR §1.163-16 and §1.6050AA-1, 91 FR (September 8, 2026); effective November 9, 2026 — accessed 2026-10-07.
3. IRS Schedule 1-A (Form 1040), Part IV "No Tax on Car Loan Interest", lines 22-30, and the IRS explainer for Schedule 1-A — accessed 2026-10-07.

We link to primary sources: the statute, the regulations, IRS forms and instructions, and NHTSA's own vehicle data. Where those sources do not settle a question, we say so rather than guess.