Why am I not getting any college credit I paid for my 18 college student whom I am claiming as a dependent

[ijeoma]

My income is 130 and married filing separate

[xmasbaby0]

You cannot get education credits when you file married filing separately.   That is one of the many disadvantages of filing MFS instead of filing a joint return.  Sorry.

[ColeenD3]

Although there is no one answer since every situation is different, generally filing jointly will give you a bigger refund or less taxes due. When you file separately, your tax rate is higher and you won't be able to claim:

• Student loan interest deduction

• Education benefits
• Earned Income Credit (EIC)
• Child and Dependent Care Credit (usually)
• Adoption Credit (usually)

• The same benefit married filing jointly couples get for personal exemptions, itemized deductions, the Child Tax Credit, and capital losses (all of these deductions are reduced by half)
• Itemized deductions if your spouse has already claimed the standard deduction, or the other way around.

On top of that, if you live in the community property states of Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, you have to deal with community property allocations and adjustments, which adds extra work and complexity to your tax preparation chore.