add-1098e - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: add-1098e description: Add or update student loan interest deduction from Form 1098-E. Accepts a dollar amount or path to a 1098-E document. argument-hint: <amount|path-to-1098e> user-invocable: true

Add Student Loan Interest Deduction

The user wants to add a student loan interest deduction to their return. This is an above-the-line deduction (Schedule 1, Line 21) that reduces AGI -- it helps even with the standard deduction.

Input

$ARGUMENTS -- either:

A dollar amount (e.g., 1800 or $1,800.00)
A path to a 1098-E PDF/image

Step 1: Determine the Interest Amount

If a dollar amount was provided:

Parse the number (strip $, commas, whitespace)
Confirm: "You paid $X in student loan interest. Is that correct?"

If a file path was provided:

Read the 1098-E document
Extract Box 1: "Student Loan Interest Received by Lender"
Display: "Your 1098-E shows $X in student loan interest paid. Is that correct?"

Step 2: Check Eligibility

Read reference/tax-year-2025.md for the student loan interest deduction rules.

Requirements (all must be true)

Filing status is Single (always true for EZFile users)
The interest was paid on a qualified student loan
The user is not claimed as a dependent on someone else's return
MAGI is below $100,000 (full deduction below $85,000)

Calculate the Deduction

raw_deduction = min(interest_paid, 2500)  # Max deduction is $2,500

# Estimate MAGI (use total wages if return not yet calculated,
# or Line 11 AGI if return exists)
MAGI = estimated_or_calculated_AGI

if MAGI <= 85000:
    deduction = raw_deduction
elif MAGI >= 100000:
    deduction = 0
    # Inform user they're over the phaseout
else:
    reduction_ratio = (MAGI - 85000) / 15000
    deduction = round(raw_deduction * (1 - reduction_ratio), 2)

Step 3: Show the Impact

If a return has already been calculated (check ./returns/return-2025.json):

Student Loan Interest Deduction

  Interest paid:              $X,XXX.XX
  Maximum deduction:          $2,500.00
  Your deduction:             $X,XXX.XX  [after phaseout if applicable]
  [If phaseout applied: "Reduced from $X to $Y because your AGI of $Z
   is in the $85K-$100K phaseout range"]

  Impact on your return:
    Previous AGI:             $XX,XXX.XX
    New AGI:                  $XX,XXX.XX  (-$X,XXX.XX)
    Previous taxable income:  $XX,XXX.XX
    New taxable income:       $XX,XXX.XX  (-$X,XXX.XX)
    Previous tax:              $X,XXX.XX
    New tax:                   $X,XXX.XX  (-$XXX.XX)
    Previous refund:           $X,XXX.XX
    New refund:                $X,XXX.XX  (+$XXX.XX)

If no return has been calculated yet, just store the information:

Student loan interest of $X,XXX.XX recorded.
This will be applied when you run /ezfile:calculate or when
your return is calculated via /ezfile:file-taxes.

Step 4: Recalculate

If a return already exists, automatically recalculate the full return by following the same 10-step pipeline from the calculate skill. Update ./returns/return-2025.json and ./returns/summary-2025.md.

Educational Note

After showing the impact, explain:

Why this matters: The student loan interest deduction is an "above-the-line" deduction, meaning it reduces your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) directly. This is valuable because:

It reduces your taxable income even if you take the standard deduction

A lower AGI can help you qualify for other credits (like the Saver's Credit)

For every dollar of deduction, you save [their marginal rate]% in taxes

At your income level, your marginal tax rate is [10% or 12%], so this $X deduction saves you approximately $Y in taxes.

Where It Goes on the Return

Schedule 1, Part II, Line 21: Student loan interest deduction
Schedule 1, Line 26: Total adjustments to income
Form 1040, Line 10: Adjustments to income (from Schedule 1, Line 26)
Form 1040, Line 11: AGI = Line 9 - Line 10