- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Education
You seem to be expecting something you're not entitled to. There is no federal deduction or credit for elementary and secondary education. Many states do have one. That's what we previously assumed you were trying to enter. Delete all education entries
If you had a529 plan distribution, elementary and secondary tuition would count for that. You would enter the expenses at the 1099-Q interview, not at the 1098-T/education expenses section.
The $470 on the 1098-Ts , for dual courses, might qualify for a credit ($94 max).
The ability of the parent of a high school student to claim the credit or deduction is limited. If these courses are provided by an eligible college, this cost qualifies for the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC). The school must have policy of granting college credit for that course, already taken, if the student ever enrolls there. In other words, it is a requirement that the course be a college credit course, even if the student isn't currently a college student. It’s not that the student is post secondary, it’s that the course is post secondary. Books are not a qualifying expense, unless included in the course fee.
Alternatively, such courses now qualify for the Tuition & Fees deduction, instead of the LLC, but only if tuition is paid to the college and not the high school. (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/education/edlife/now-deduct-this.html?_r=0 ).
High school students are not usually eligible for the more generous American Opportunity Credit (AOTC), unless they are officially enrolled as a degree candidate. More importantly, the AOTC is limited to being claimed 4 times, per student. You don't want to "waste" one of those 4 times on this small amount, if your student is college bound.