Why would student loan interest lessen your refund?

42k gross this last year. If I input the student loan interest I paid along with wages/income, my refund is $13.





If I do not include the student loan interest paid, I get $340.





Usually when I add in the student loan interest to my return, then my refund goes from $350 or so to between $700-800. Any reason that this year it takes that much away, but before it doubled it?





The only difference between this year and the last was I got a 2nd job.

Why would student loan interest lessen your refund?
Why would you ADD interest paid to your wages?





Wouldn't this be subtracted along with other deductions?
Reply:That does not make any sense. Are you making sure that you are getting your tax credit for attending school? I know that makes a large difference on mine.
Reply:You shouldn't be *adding* interest you paid to your income. You should be reporting it in the proper place on your tax forms, so it will be *subtracted* from your income.





You need to fill out a Form 8917 and then enter the amount from that form on line 34 (if you're filling out a 1040) or on line 19 (if you're filling out a 1040A).