My daughter's college charges a "facilities fee" that isn't included on the 1098-T under amounts billed (box 2); can I claim this as a qualified expense under the AOTC?

[AndreaG · Accepted solution]

Yes. The facilities fee is a qualified education expense for the purposes of this credit because it is required by the school.

To enter these expenses in Turbo Tax:

• log into your Turbo Tax account
• click on "take me to my return"
• click on the "federal taxes" tab
• click on "deductions and credits"
• scroll down to "expenses and scholarships(form 1098T) and click on "edit"
• when the "your education expenses summary" screen comes up, click "edit" next to the student's name
• when the "here's your education summary" screen comes up, click "edit" next to the school name and tuition amount.
• when the "Type in info from 1098T" screen comes up, scroll down to box 2. Underneath box 2, there is a link that says, "what if this isnt what I paid to the school?"  click on this link
• After you click on the link, you will see an expanded version of the 1098T form. There is a shaded area between box 2 and box 3 that says, "enter tuition paid". You can enter the facilities fee in this box. However, the facilities fee should be in addition to the amount that is already in the box. So if the amount in the box is $4000 and student fees were $200, then total amount in this box should be $4200.

[CMS13]

I clicked on the "what if this isn't what I paid" and the shaded area showed up, but there is nowhere to enter the amount.  Am I missing something?