✓ Updated for the final IRS rules (September 2026)

Does my car qualify for the car loan interest deduction?

A free check for the 2025–2028 “no tax on car loan interest” deduction. Enter your VIN to see where the car was assembled, answer six questions, and estimate what you could deduct. Your VIN goes only to the U.S. government’s NHTSA decoder; nothing is stored.

Rules last checked: October 2026, against IRS Schedule 1-A and the final regulations.

1 Check your VIN

Find it on your registration, insurance card, loan papers, or the driver-side dashboard through the windshield.

No VIN handy? Try an example: or

2 Six quick questions

3 Estimate your deduction

Rolled over an old loan, or use the car for work? (optional)

What you still owed on a trade-in that was added to the new loan. Interest on that part doesn’t count. If you also made a down payment, check your loan papers or ask a tax pro how it was applied.

For example on Schedule C. The same dollars can’t be deducted twice.

Needed to split out the negative-equity share when you entered interest directly.

Qualifying interest
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Estimated deduction
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Approx. federal tax saved
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Common questions

Which vehicles qualify?

New cars, minivans, vans, SUVs, pickup trucks and motorcycles made for public roads, with a gross vehicle weight rating under 14,000 lb and final assembly in the United States. The car must be bought and financed after December 31, 2024, and when you take out the loan you must expect to use it more than half the time for personal purposes.

Does a lease, a lease buyout or a used car count?

No. The car’s first use has to start with you. Leased cars don’t qualify, and neither does buying out your lease. Used cars don’t qualify. Under the final IRS rules, a dealer demo car the dealer held for sale can still qualify, but a dealer loaner or service car generally can’t.

I rolled my old car loan into the new one. Does that interest count?

Only partly. Interest on negative equity (what you still owed on your trade-in) doesn’t qualify. Interest on the car itself, plus sales tax, fees, service plans and extended warranties financed with it, does. Use the optional section in step 3 to split it out.

What if I refinance?

Interest on a refinanced loan generally still counts if the new loan is a first lien on the same car and the balance is no more than what you owed on the original loan. Cash-out amounts don’t count.

How does the income limit work?

First take the smaller of your qualifying interest or $10,000. Then subtract $200 for every $1,000, or part of $1,000, of modified adjusted gross income above $100,000 ($200,000 if married filing jointly). Example: $3,000 of interest with $110,000 of income gives $3,000 − $2,000 = $1,000. Nobody gets a deduction above $150,000 ($250,000 joint). A joint return gets one $10,000 limit, not two. For most people, modified AGI is the same as AGI.

Can I rely on the VIN decoder for final assembly?

Yes. Under the final IRS regulations (September 2026), you can rely on either the plant of manufacture shown by the NHTSA VIN decoder or the “final assembly point” on the vehicle’s window sticker. Keep a screenshot or copy with your tax records.

Where do I claim it?

On Schedule 1-A of Form 1040, where you also enter the VIN. You can claim it whether or not you itemize. It lowers income tax only; it doesn’t change Social Security or Medicare tax.