As a student studying grad school abroad, do I qualify for any tax breaks?

[Leeksoup]

As the topic says, I'm studying grad school in Taiwan. It's a great program with a good history, but as it's not an American institution, it doesn't have a federal tax ID. I inputted all my information into TurboTax and the program informed me that I'm not eligible for any breaks for exactly this reason- no ID, no help.

However, reading around on the internet, it seems I should still be able to qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit, right? Am I missing something? Any help would be appreciated.

[MichaelG81]

It depends, here is what the IRS published on guidance for the educational credits including those for international students who may be a non-resident, and for eligible institutions: 

Who can claim an education credit?

There are additional rules for each credit, but you must meet all three of the following for both:

1. You, your dependent or a third party pays qualified education expenses for higher education.
2. An eligible student must be enrolled at an eligible educational institution.
3. The eligible student is yourself, your spouse or a dependent you list on your tax return.

Who cannot claim an education credit?

You cannot claim an education credit when:

• Someone else, such as your parents, list you as a dependent on their tax return
• Your filing status is married filing separately
• You already claimed or deducted another higher education benefit using the same student or same expenses (see Education Benefits: No Double Benefits Allowed for more information)
• You (or your spouse) were a non-resident alien for any part of the year and did not choose to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes (find more information in Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens)

@Leeksoup

[Leeksoup]

Thanks for your answer! So according to point 2, it seems I wouldn't qualify, as my educational institution is not an American one (or a foreign one that has still somehow been granted an American tax ID). My next question is: did this change for the 2022 tax year? I was studying at this same institution last year as a full time student and was able to take the LLC for my tuition costs for 2021. What's different this time around?

@MichaelG81 

[DaveF1006]

It depends. You may wish to review your 2021 return to review your entries to see how you entered the data. One thing very clear though is that the university must be an eligible institution  in short though, to claim the credit,  the foreign university must  participate in Federal Student Aid programs (FASA). In order to receive an education credit, the Federal Student Aid outlines the following requirements in their website.

1. U.S. federal tax laws require each postsecondary educational institution that is an eligible educational institution to file Form 1098-T reporting payments of qualified tuition and related expenses received from, or on behalf of, the student and furnish a copy to the student. 
2. In addition, each postsecondary educational institution must include its EIN on Form 1098-T.  This is a provision of 26 U.S.C. § 6050S.

At this point, you may need to inquire to the school to see if they participate in FASA and if they have an EIN. If they have a valid EIN, you may be able to claim an educational credit without the 1098-T.  Without it, you wouldn't be able to claim the AOTC.