topic Turbo tax is not giving me credit for my son's tuition in Education

Turbo tax is not giving me credit for my son's tuition

stephanieearls — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 09:13:26 GMT

i should be eligible for the american opportunity tax credit. how can i get it to apply

The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is a credit fo...

MichaelMc — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 09:13:27 GMT

The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is a credit for qualified education expenses paid for an eligible student for the first four years of higher education. You can get a maximum annual credit of $2,500 per eligible student. If the credit brings the amount of tax you owe to zero, you can have 40 percent of any remaining amount of the credit (up to $1,000) refunded to you.

The amount of the credit is 100 percent of the first $2,000 of qualified education expenses you paid for each eligible student and 25 percent of the next $2,000 of qualified education expenses you paid for that student. But, if the credit pays your tax down to zero, you can have 40 percent of the remaining amount of the credit (up to $1,000) refunded to you.

Who is an eligible student for AOTC?

To be eligible for AOTC, the student must:

Be pursuing a degree or other recognized education credential.
Be enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period* beginning in the tax year.
Not have finished the first four years of higher education at the beginning of the tax year.
Not have claimed the AOTC or the former Hope credit for more than four tax years.
Not have a felony drug conviction at the end of the tax year.

*Academic Period can be semesters, trimesters, quarters or any other period of study such as a summer school session. The schools determine the academic periods. For schools that use clock or credit hours and do not have academic terms, the payment period may be treated as an academic period.

Claiming the credit

Generally, students receive a Form 1098-T Tuition Statement, from their school by January 31. This statement helps you figure your credit. The form will have an amount in box 1 to show the amounts received by the school during the year. But, this amount may not be the amount you can claim. See qualified education expenses for more information on what amount to claim.

Check the Form 1098-T to make sure it is correct. If it isn’t correct or you do not receive the form, contact your school.

Valid TIN before the due date of the return

A TIN is a Social Security number, an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) or an adoption taxpayer identification number (ATIN).

You may not claim the AOTC unless you, your spouse (if you are filing a joint return) and the qualifying student have a valid taxpayer identification number (TIN) issued or applied for on or before the due date of the return (including extensions).

You may not claim the AOTC on a later original return or an amended return if the TIN is issued on or applied for after the due date of the return (including extensions).

What are the income limits for AOTC?

To claim the full credit, your MAGI,? modified adjusted gross income 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).
You cannot claim the credit if your MAGI is over $90,000 ($180,000 for joint filers).

?MAGI for most people is the amount of AGI, adjusted gross income, shown on your tax return. From your 2018 Form 1040, add the following amounts to AGI (line 7):

Foreign earned income exclusion,
Foreign housing exclusion,
Foreign housing deduction,
Exclusion of income by bona fide residents of American Samoa, or of Puerto Rico.

Re: The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is a credit fo...

Safetyman6 — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 18:17:50 GMT

The program is telling me I do not qualify because "there were no net qualified educational expenses" I have $9700 from box one and I meet the income requirement

Please help

Re: The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is a credit fo...

Hal_Al — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 22:28:43 GMT

Go through the entire education interview until you reach a scree titled "Your Education Expenses Summary". Click edit next to the student's name. That should take you to a screen “Here’s your Education Summary”. Click edit next to the section you want to change, tuition, in your case.

Re: The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is a credit fo...

Carl — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 23:25:50 GMT

I have $9700 from box one and I meet the income requirement

But what's in box 5? If box 5 is greater than box 1, then you have no qualified "out of your pocket" education expenses.

However, if you will finish working through the education section after you enter the 1098-T, you'll be asked for those things that were not included on the 1098-T. Then things might be different.

Re: Turbo tax is not giving me credit for my son's tuition

ReginaM — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 00:17:59 GMT

If you have not already entered the 1098-T, then follow these instructions:

Enter your 1098-T exactly as is even if the amounts are wrong (this is common). TurboTax, we'll give you the opportunity to correct the info and/or enter more expenses later.
Don't enter 0 for any blank boxes on the form, as this will generate errors. Leave blank boxes blank.

If the student received a scholarship or other financial aid that was more than qualified expenses including tuition, then they will not be able to claim the credit.

If this does not correct your issue, please respond to this thread.