For "Where did you go to school in 2018?", it asks for the Filer's federal ID no., but, it says "Invalid EIN, but be ##-######", when I put in the correct code, G20879.

[bcrapone]

I know it is the correct code because that is what FAFSA.gov and the University's website says. It is a foreign university so I have no 1098-t to check.

[CherylW · Accepted solution]

Have you tried this website, to get a number:

Lookup EINs

[CherylW]

I've done some research on your situation, and it seems that you CAN'T take the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) unless your school has a US federal identification number.  This, from the instructions from the input screen in Turbo Tax:

Beginning in 2017, taxpayers are no longer allowed to claim the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) for education expenses unless the taxpayer provides the Federal ID Number (or EIN) for the school where the expenses were incurred.

Since the AOC is often the most valuable education credit, you may want to consider just removing education expenses for a school that you can't find an EIN for. In other cases, it may be best to leave these expenses.

Eligible Educational Institutions

Depending on the credit amount that you're not getting, it may be worth a phone call or email to the university.  Here is their contact number, in case you don't already have it:

https://www.brookes.ac.uk/about-brookes/contacts-maps-and-campuses/contact-us/

You may qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC).  Go back through the interview.  On the page (screenshot attached), you'll see that even though there's not an EIN entered, you'll still qualify for the LLC.

[CherylW]

The tuition to a foreign school counts only if the foreign university is a qualified institution (see below for details).

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.

[bcrapone]

I'm sorry, but this is copy-pasted info already available on Turbo Tax so it was not helpful. I had already used that link, and the university is on that list provided by FAFSA's school search as it is eligible to participate in student aid administered by the US dept of education. The code given is G20879, but Turbo Tax's for form says "Invalid EIN, must be ##-######" when I put it in.   <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/cycleNeutral/faces/MoreInfo.faces?locale=en_US&schoolCode1=G20879">https:...>