Education tax credit

[pmac4483]

My Daughter is my dependent and getting a four year degree. She has a full scholarship that covers tuition within 200.00. Otherwise the only costs are paying for books and small things like parking pass. Is there any point in putting in for the education credits, if her tuition if almost fully paid? Is there any benefit? I am  not sure how they work...but it seems like its only to offset the cost of tuition and books. Her books were only around 500.00 and I doubt she has receipts. My income is 44 per year.

[IreneS · Accepted solution]

Yes - There is a benefit of entering your daughter's education expenses, even though most are covered by the scholarship.

You could still get a credit using the tuition not covered by the scholarship and the book expenses.  Just enter the amounts in TurboTax and it will calculate the credit for you.  There are two credits available:

• American Opportunity Credit (AOC) is up to $2,500 per student (100% of the first $2,000 of expenses; 25% of the next $2,000)

• Lifetime Learning Credit - up to $2,000 per return (20% of up to $10,000 in expenses)

With the AOC you could possibly get a credit of 100% of the expenses you incurred ($200 tuition balance + $500 books).  Another benefit of the AOC is that part of it is refundable.  A refundable credit is one you get even if your tax balance is zero!