If I pay my son's college tuition in december 2017 for the semester that starts in january 2018, can I deduct some of it on my 2017 taxes?

[Howard1948 · Accepted solution]

If you can and do claim your son as a dependent on your 2017 Federal income tax return, you can include the education expenses you noted above in your 2017 Federal income tax return.  Whether they are a deduction or a credit depends on many factors that TT will help you address as you go through the interview.

[colbylvickerson]

If I pay my tuition in December 2016, for the semester that starts in January 2017, can I deduct that from my 2017 taxes?

[wcroth55]

The answer to the original poster's question is absolutely YES.  See the federal 1040 instructions for line 34.

[wcroth55]

My question: my daughter is accepted "early admission" at the end of 2017 for a college term starting in fall 2018.  We had to pay the deposit by 12/31/2017.  Normally that deposit would not be deductible, since (again 1040 line 34 instructions) the expense does not happen in the 1st quarter of 2018.  But the "early admission" requirement puts us in a catch-22.  I would argue that it should be deductible (and will claim it) for 2017 taxes.  Thoughts?