Form 8863 Line 25

[tgore3rd]

Hello,

Started doing my 2019 taxes and took a look at our 2018 taxes for reference and noticed that I may have inadvertently selected the wrong box for line 25 of Form 8863 for some reason.  Does this mean I need to amend my 2018 taxes now?

[Hal_Al]

Yes, probably. It depends on the effect.  Which way did you mark  it wrong and did the result affect what you coulda woulda claimed.

Checking yes means you do not qualify for the more generous American Opportunity credit(AOC) ($2500 max) and TurboTax (TT) gave you (usually) the less generous Lifetime learning credit (LLC) ($2000 max).  You are not required  to amend, but you probably want to, to get more money back.  The amount could easily be more than $500.  For example, $4000 of expenses gets you $2500 AOC but only $800 LLC  (it takes $10,000 expenses to get the maximum $2000 LLC). 

Checking no means you do qualify for the  American Opportunity credit and you probably need to pay back some of the credit.

[tgore3rd]

Hello, thank you for your quick response.  So, I checked Yes (still not sure why).  However, my spouse was in school only half-time in 2018 and the expenses were not that much.  I went back into TurboTax and started the amendment process and it looks like if I did the amendment I would get what appears to be $245 back.  

Also, my spouse was a full-time student in 2019 and I need to fill out this same form. 

Would you recommend amending 2018, overall?

[Hal_Al]

Half time, or more, qualifies for the  AOC.  Any amount of  school counts for the LLC.

The AOC is limited to being claimed four times per student.  So, if there is a chance she can get more in the future, you may not want to claim AOC for 2018.

 You need to look at the actual amounts.  The $245 difference is not enough info to make a decision on

[tgore3rd]

Hello and thank you for the great feedback.  Going back through the years that my spouse has been in school at least half-time, the AOC has been claimed 3 times.  Then in 2017, for reasons I do not fully understand, the tuition and fees deduction (Form 8917) was used by a CPA we used. 

We actually will probably spend more tuition this year, 2020, than in 2018 and 2019.  Can I claim the fourth AOC when I do 2020 taxes and claim the LLC for 2019?

[Hal_Al]

Q.  Can I claim the fourth AOC when I do 2020 taxes and claim the LLC for 2019?

A.  Yes, as long as she is still an undergrad (has not received a bachelor's degree or otherwise completed 4 years of college)