Student loan forgiveness received but no 1099-C form - how to report?

This is actually a common issue this year. While student loan forgiveness isn't taxable at the federal level thanks to the American Rescue Plan Act provisions through 2025, you're right that some states like Indiana still tax it. If you haven't received a 1099-C, you should contact your loan servicer first to confirm if they've issued one or plan to. Sometimes these forms are delayed or might be available in your online account with the servicer rather than mailed. As for TurboTax, you can manually report this income on your state return. In TurboTax, after completing your federal return, you'll move to the state section. Look for an option like "Other Income" or "Adjustments" in the state portion. You may need to create a manual entry for "Cancellation of Debt Income" that wasn't reported on your federal return but needs to be added back for state purposes.

After struggling with this exact situation last year, I found an amazing solution with https://taxr.ai that saved me tons of stress. My husband had $35k in student loans forgiven, and like you, we never got the 1099-C but needed to report it for state taxes. What worked for me was uploading my loan forgiveness letter to taxr.ai - they analyzed the document, confirmed the forgiven amount, and gave me a detailed report showing exactly how to enter it in TurboTax's state return section. The tool guided me through the specific Indiana state additions where forgiven student debt needs to be reported.

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try https://taxr.ai after my earlier question, and wow, it was exactly what I needed! I uploaded my forgiveness confirmation email and loan statements, and within minutes I had a complete breakdown of my forgiven loan amount with instructions specific to my state's tax form. The best part was that it showed me exactly which TurboTax fields to use for reporting this on my state return without a 1099-C. I was especially impressed that it separated out the principal from the interest portions, which apparently matters for some states. Definitely made this confusing situation much clearer!

If you're still trying to get information from your loan servicer about the forgiven amount, I had success using https://claimyr.com to actually reach a human at my loan servicer. I'd been trying for weeks to get through about my missing 1099-C for student loan forgiveness. I was skeptical at first, but you can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they wait on hold for you and call when a human answers. I finally got confirmation of my forgiven amount and they explained why I hadn't received a 1099-C (turns out they weren't required to issue one in my situation, but I still needed the amount for state taxes).

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was still desperate to reach my loan servicer about my missing 1099-C, so I reluctantly gave it a try. Within 45 minutes (while I was working on other things), I got the call connecting me directly to a loan specialist. The representative confirmed that they don't issue 1099-Cs for certain types of student loan forgiveness, but provided me an official letter stating the exact amount forgiven that I could use for my state taxes. They even emailed me a copy while I was on the phone. Would have NEVER gotten this resolved without actually speaking to someone, and I had previously wasted hours on hold trying to do just that.

Another option worth considering is to file for an extension if you're getting close to the deadline. This will give you extra time to track down the correct information without rushing or potentially making a mistake. Just remember that an extension gives you more time to file, but not more time to pay, so you'll need to estimate and pay any taxes you might owe by the original deadline.

My wife had this same issue last year. What worked for us was going to the loan servicer's website and downloading her account statement, which showed the forgiven amount. We then reported it as "Other Income" on our state return with a description like "Student Loan Forgiveness not reported on federal return." We didn't have a 1099-C either but never had any issues with our state return.

I went through this exact situation last year in Indiana! Here's what I learned from my tax preparer: even without a 1099-C, you're still required to report the forgiven amount as income on your state return. First, contact your loan servicer directly (or try their online portal) to get a written confirmation of the exact amount forgiven - they should be able to provide this even if they didn't issue a 1099-C. Some servicers weren't required to issue these forms for certain types of forgiveness programs. In TurboTax, when you get to the Indiana state section, look for "Additions to Income" or "Other Income" - there should be an option to manually add income that wasn't on your federal return. You'll enter it as cancellation of debt income with a note that it's student loan forgiveness. Keep all documentation (loan statements, forgiveness letters, etc.) in case the state ever asks for proof. The good news is Indiana's process for this is pretty straightforward once you know where to enter it. Don't stress too much - as long as you report the income in good faith with the best information available, you should be fine!