Is my child enrolled in a program leading to a degree ?

[timgottshall516]

 My son, a full time student , is showing as NOT qualifying for the American Opportunity Credit since "he is not enrolled in a program leading to a degree, certificate, or credential."  But he is enrolled working towards a degree.  I cannot find the area where TurboTax is determining his status. How do I change this ?

[KittyM · Accepted solution]

This "candidate for a degree" question is in the interview for the Form 1098-T. You can find your 1098-T in TurboTax on your Federal return. Choose the tab for Deductions & Credits, then scroll down to Expenses and Scholarships (Form 1098-T) under the Education subject (you may have to choose See more tax breaks to view this topic), then Edit/Add your 1098-T.  

[conwaymark]

I ran into this problem also. The questionnaire did not lead me to the question of "enrolled in program leading to a degree..." and yet somehow came to the (inaccurate) conclusion that she was not enrolled in such a program.  I had to go to the student info worksheet and manually check the box (no box was checked on the form).  After that, the program worked properly to allow the use of the American Opportunity Credit.  This appears to be a program flaw.

[conwaymark]

I ran into this problem also. The questionnaire did not lead me to the question of "enrolled in program leading to a degree..." and yet somehow came to the (inaccurate) conclusion that she was not enrolled in such a program. I had to go to the student info worksheet and manually check the box (no box was checked on the form). After that, the program worked properly to allow the use of the American Opportunity Credit. This appears to be a program flaw.

[tmess13]

I came here to state what you just did. The question as to whether or not the student is currently enrolled in a degree program is not presently included in the interview questions. Fortunately, this option is present as a checkbox in the underlying form. Once I selected it there and had Turbotax recalculate, my return amount increased by roughly $2000! Had I proceeded without digging further into this, it would obviously have been a costly oversight, and it leaves me somewhat apprehensive as I think about what other things might overlooked by the user-facing side of the software.

[lmjones]

Turbotax won't let me manually change #3 "Was this student enrolled in a program that leads to a degree? " to a yes.  It also has #4 Was the student taking courses as part of a post secondary degree...? as a Yes. None of these questions were asked in student interview.  Just asked if it was their first year..which it was not.

[DaveF1006]

When you finished putting in your educational information, you will reach a screen that says Your Education Expenses Summary:

• Select edit to the right of the student's name
• Next screen will say Here is your Education summary
• Scroll down to the bottom of this screen and select Education information
• here it asks you if your student is working a degree.  Same question you asked but worded differently.
• the next screen will ask if they are attending at least half-time.  This is a critical question also.
• Finish out this Education information section and you should be able to claim the American Opportunity Credit.

[peterlakey]

This is definitely a bug in their program.  It was driving me crazy.  You have to go to the worksheet, as mentioned, to rectify this problem.