Tax Year Prior to 2020: I'm currently attending a university in London and they did not enter a Federal ID number on the form needed to obtain my student tax credit. How could I get this info?

[allan-simmons]

I'm filing the 1099- T form and it will not allow me to complete my return without this info. Also, I do not see the school in the list of accredited schools. However, I do not see any international school, so maybe I'm looking at the wrong list.

[LinaJ2018]

Do you mean by form 1098T  instead of 1099 ?  What is the name of your school ?

[allan-simmons]

Yes sorry, I meant the 1098T Form. The school I attend is the University of Essex.

[LinaJ2018]

According to the U.S Department of Education, University of Essex is an eligible accredited educational institution which allows you to claim education credit if you meet the requirements. 

https://ifap.ed.gov/ifap/fedSchoolCodeList.jsp (click on the link under Federal School Code List and find the school name)

In order to e file, you do need to have the federal ID information.  I would suggest you to contact the school. However, without that information, you will still be able to use the program to complete your return, print it out and submit to IRS by mail. (No federal ID, no e -file) 

[sirashmont]

Maybe in previous years it was different, but the 2017 instructions for Form 8863, Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits), specifically says we "must provide the educational institution's employer identification number (EIN)" on our Form 8863 to claim the tax credit.  

This is impossible if your student attends an eligible college outside the US which does not have an EIN.  Some foreign colleges have an EIN, but most do not.  Unfortunately my daughter's school in Canada is one of those that do not, so it appears that I'm stuck using an education deduction instead of the more favorable education tax credit.

[DLWoodrum]

You can find some EIN numbers for foreign universities using the Tax Exempt Organization Search function on the IRS website: https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/

I had been looking unsuccessuffly all over the web for Kingston University in Kingston upon Thames until I finally found this website.

[LinaJ2020]

Please use this site to verify if your foreign school is an eligible institution. 

Eligible schools

Put in your school name and select "Foreign country".  Note that in order to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit, you have to have the FEIN on the Form 1098-T.  It is a requirement by the IRS. 

See the image below

@allan-simmons @DLWoodrum

[louviosatommo]

@DLWoodrum Hi!  I have this same question.  I'm currently a postgrad at the University of Chester in the UK, but I can't find my university listed on the site you are talking about.  Is there any way you can check for me?  I'm panicked because I've search EVERYWHERE and I can't find anything.

[DLWoodrum]

This can be very frustrating.  I can see that Chester University has a Federal School Code (six-character alphanumeric codes that uniquely identify colleges and universities that are eligible for Title IV federal student aid): 041709, but I cannot find a foreign EIN number assigned by the IRS to it.  The best bet would be to contact the university's financial office or student affairs office and ask for the person that handles student aid or finances for US students.  This person should be able to answer your questions and generate a letter that is based on a 1098-T form with all of the relevant information you need.  And they should be able to tell you if they have a USA EIN number or not.  

I am not a tax professional but as I understand it, an EIN number is necessary for the educational tax credits, but there are other ways to deduct as much as $2,000 for tuition as an income deduction.  My granddaughter who is a grad student in London no longer qualifies for the tax credits but her educational expenses still qualify for the educational expense income deduction.

good luck

dw

[DLWoodrum]

Oh, and FYI, the tax credits are available for 4-year undergraduate work but not available for graduate work (as I understand things).  But you may still be eligible for the educational income deduction for graduate school, up to $2,000 deduction.

[VictorW9]

Tuition at a foreign university is deductible if the school is an eligible school.  Please check this link before proceeding.

If your school is eligible, you don't need a 1098-T or an EIN. When you enter the information in TurboTax, tell the program that you didn't get a 1098-T. It will ask if it qualifies for an exception; the answer is I qualify for an exception. On the page headed Where Did [you] Go to School in 2019?, check the box for foreign address, so you won't need a zip code, either.

You can then enter all your applicable expenses. Be sure to convert to U.S. dollars.

[hdxhp]

It still asks for the Filer's federal ID no. which is the EIN. This number is needed for the tax credits. 

[HelenC12]

To qualify for education credits, the university has to be an eligible educational institution. 

It is any college, university, vocational school, or other post secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program run by the U.S. Department of Education.

• This includes most accredited public, nonprofit and privately-owned–for-profit post secondary institutions.

If you aren’t sure if your school is an eligible educational institution:

• Ask your school if it is an eligible educational institution, or
• See if your school is on the Federal School Code Search - FAFSA on the Web - Federal Student Aid

. 

TIP: A small number of schools, not on this list, may be eligible educational institutions. So, you may need to ask the school.

[mn17]

The FAFSA.ed.gov database lists the following for my school:

School Name:UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON

School Type:NA

Federal School Code:

G08399

But Turbotax does not accept the federal student code in the federal ID location.  I checked the website mentioned earlier, but U Southampton does not have a separate federal ID.  How do I reflect my tuition and fees for this school on my taxes?  Thanks!

[ReneeM7122]

The reason the University isn't being accepted by TurboTax may be because it does not appear that the University of Southampton is on the U.S. Department of Education’s  Database of Accredited Post Secondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP).

If a school isn't on the list, it  may not  be considered an eligible education institution for the purpose of the educational credits or the tuition and fees deduction.

See this link as well for more information.

@mn17