Can I claim the tuition that I paid for my daughter's college classes that she took while incarcerated in 2018. Can I use the 1098-T that she received on my taxes?

[KatrinaB · Accepted solution]

You can only deduct educational expenses for your daughter if you qualify to claim her as a dependent. 

If you meet all the requirements below, then you may claim her as a dependent and claim the related educational expenses.

• Are they related to you? The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
• Do they meet the age requirement? Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
• Do they live with you? Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply. Being incarcerated is one of the exceptions.
• Do you financially support them? Your child may have a job, but that job cannot provide more than half of her support.
• Are you the only person claiming them? This requirement commonly applies to children of divorced parents. Here you must use the “tiebreaker rules,” which are found in IRS Publication 501. These rules establish income, parentage and residency requirements for claiming a child.