Do tuition fees paid at international universities count towards Education credits, line 50?

[karablythe89]

I recently received a Notice CP2000 from the IRS claiming that my Education credits, line 50 were incorrect. Using Turbo Tax, I calculated my Education credits at $2000 because of the tuition the tuition money that I paid that year. However, this was tuition paid to a UK university (University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies) via a US Federal Loan. Do tuition fees at international universities count toward education credits? Or could it be a different issue? I read elsewhere in this forum that sometimes universities don't 'credit' payment until the following year (2016) even though payment was received in 2015, and so, if this were the case, I would just need to show proof of this payment to correct the error. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[bridgett-m]

If my school is on this approved list but is not required to submit a 1098-T then where do I find the Filer Federal ID ?

[maglib]

After you enter the school name in the Education section, you will be asked if you received a Form 1098-T from this school.  Answer no, and you will be asked to enter the qualified expense on the next screen.  This includes all expenses whether paid by a loan or a grant.  (in the future you should not post on 1 year old posts)

[tennisgal12]

TU graz

[MargaretL]

The tuition to a foreign school counts only if the foreign university is a qualified institution (see below for details). If University of London is not a qualified school for tax purposes, the CP2000 would indicate line 50 as incorrect. If the school didn't credit the payment until following year, but payment was made correctly, line 50 would show that as well.  I recommend that you call the phone number on the letter (and be sure to contact them by the deadline) and ask. The IRS is usually very patient and informative when it comes to CP2000 explanation; they may even grant you more time to resolve the issue with them. 

A qualified institution for education tax purposes is any college, university, or other post-secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program Administered by the U.S. Department of Education.  Most foreign schools are not.  Please refer to the  U.S. Federal Student Aid https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch  use this link to find a list of eligible schools and their FAFSA Federal EIN's.  For the state pull down, there is the option foreign country....  Not all foreign schools will be listed, only a few will be missing who may also qualify. If they are not on the list, you need to then contact them. (choose foreign country in pull down) link to check if your university is qualified educational institution for tax education purposes.

[bridgett-m]

If my school is on this approved list but is not required to submit a 1098-T then where do I find the Filer Federal ID ?

[nonination]

I have the same question. My school is on the approved list, but does not have a 1098 T form. I have no way to find their federal ID

[maglib]

did you look at the list on the link provided ? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch">https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch</a>  use this link to find a list of eligible schools and their FAFSA Federal EIN's.  For the state pull down, there is the option foreign country....  Not all foreign schools will be listed, only a few will be missing who may also qualify. If they are not on the list, you need to then contact them.

[nonination]

Yes, but this does not provide a federal filer's ID, just school code. My school is on that list this, but code is not the required code for the American Opportunity Credit. My school is eligible but they do not have a filer's ID

[maglib]

that is the federal Id for the school....  which school?

[mvk_atl]

I have the same Q - found this and it worked as far as taking the entry. Now to see if it works for figuring AOC. - scroll to bottom. https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3746372-is-undergraduate-tuition-at-a-foreign-uk-university-eligib...

[llittlewood]

For the person who asked about the school that does not issue a 1098-T, my son goes to Trinity College Dublin and I did find their code on the list and then I contacted the school and they sent me a letter that I used for tax purposes.

[amytim-5]

I think I finally found a link that has the 9-digit IDs for lots of foreign universities, so I think it will work. TurboTax would not accept a generic number, but it would accept the one I found in this list for Cardiff University. Hopefully I will get the AOTC for my son's 2018 tuition.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://ifap.ed.gov/fedschcodelist/attachments/1112FedSchoolCodeList.xls">https://ifap.ed.gov/fedsch...>

[oracle]

I went around and around searching for EINs for two UK universities that were on the eligible universities list, and found nothing helpful. This kind of made sense, because I thought it does not make sense for them to have a US Federal EIN. I was wrong. I requested the EINs from the UK universities, and both of them got right back to me with their EINs. That is the easiest way to get them. Both had persons in their financial offices that deal with such US-student oriented requests.

[CeeCeeLee]

Little wood, I hope you might be able to help me. My daughter also goes to Trinity and we did not get a 1098t form but I assume we got the same letter you mentioned.  When I used the letter as supporting info I was denied the credit for 2018 taxes, we mailed in the return. Did you find an EIN or did Trinity supply something else to help you get the credit? I would greatly appreciate anything you can tell me.