The American Opportunity credit is not calculating all 3 of my children's expenses correctly. $4000, $4000, and $2939 even though they should all be $4000.

jpallbee · ‎February 6, 2021

They are all full time students. The maximizer is used and says this is the best option. Depending on which child gets entered last depends how the numbers work out.

LenaH · ‎February 6, 2021

If your credit is being phased out no matter which order you put the expenses in for your children, it may be due to your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).

In order to receive the full credit amounts, your MAGI must be $80,000 or less ($160,000 or less for married filing jointly). You receive a reduced amount of the credit if your MAGI is over $80,000 but less than $90,000 (over $160,000 but less than $180,000 for married filing jointly).

To get your MAGI, please read about the MAGI calculation on TurboTax's page What is the Difference Between AGI and MAGI on your Taxes?

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jpallbee · ‎February 6, 2021

Nope - we are under $160,000

jpallbee · ‎February 9, 2021

Hi,

My MAGI is less than 160,000, so it should not be phasing out. Can you please advise?

Hal_Al · ‎February 9, 2021

If you know your total qualified expenses are $4000 (or more) and you're getting something less, you've made an error in the interview.

Go thru the interview again and/or review the student information worksheet to see if you can find it. Is box 1 of that student's 1098-T $4000+ more than box 5? That's usually all you need to enter.

You may have to delete and start over (on that student).

Go through the entire education interview until you reach a screen titled "Your Education Expenses Summary". Click delete next to that student's name. You'll then get the "Your Education Expenses Summary" screen again. Click the "Add a student" button.