EIN for a Foreign School?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
February 16, 2021
18 replies
77 views

I attend an eligible foreign school in the UK while living here in NY. I put that it was a foreign school for my federal return but I can’t put that it’s foreign for NY State. It won’t let me continue until I have an EIN number entered even though the school name is foreign.

What do I do to fix this so I can file?

Best answer by ToddL99

This only works for federal though. I’ve repeated this multiple times. The issue is not with federal. State still wants an EIN even after it went through without one for federal. It’s not giving me an option for out of school for STATE specifically.

Try a "place-holder" EIN for the NY tax interview (e.g. 99-9999999).

I just did that in a practice return and it allowed me to continue to "Great News! You're Getting a Tax Break for your Tuition".

While the IRS may have an EIN data file for all U.S. schools (for verification purposes) , I suspect NY does not. I could not verify this through e-filing, though.

Please let us know.

KathrynG3

Level 14

Confirm that you are eligible. Then, confirm the institution is truly eligible and contact the institution for their EIN.

I recommend reviewing the 2020 Instructions for Form IT-272 Claim for College Tuition Credit to confirm your eligibility. It is separate from filing for the federal education deduction or credit.

The additional New York Deduction or Credit only applies to full-year resident persons pursuing an undergraduate degree, not claimed as a dependent. Qualifying expenses will not include room and board or fees for course related books, supplies, etc.

See Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, page 13 and 14 reviews the definition of qualifying educational institution:

Eligible educational institution. An eligible educational institution is generally any accredited public, nonprofit, or proprietary (privately owned profit-making) college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution.

Also, the institution must be eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Virtually all accredited postsecondary institutions meet this definition. An eligible educational institution also includes certain educational institutions located outside the United States that are eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education.

QuazArxxAuthor

Level 2

I am eligible and the school is eligible but it’s a school in the UK so there is no EIN which is the problem and there’s no place to select that it’s a foreign school even though it shows the university is an outside institution and I could select that it was foreign on my federal taxes

ThomasM125

Level 15

I would think since the school is eligible for participate in a student aid program administered by the US Department of Education that it would have and EIN number, so you may want to investigate that further by asking the school about it.

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