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cl8
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

I have been in school for 7 years slowly completing my bachelors. 4 of those years I lived at home while paying my own education, but parents told me to give them tuition tax forms. They might have claimed The American opportunity tax credit, but no way of knowing because I am now estranged from them. I have received the credit for the past 3 years (2015, 2016, and 2017) as I am filling my own taxes now and assumed they never used it. I was reading more about the AOTC and I am concerned I have received the credit more than 4 times, which is the limit. Can I call the IRS and have them look up my social to see if the AOTC was used while I was  dependent? If my parents did receive the credit, lets say 2 years they did, would I have to amend my last tax return for 2017 to take that credit off? If they did 3 times, do i amend the last 2 years...and so on? What happens if I amend my tax returns to remove the credit? Do I get fined? 


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Accepted Solutions
JulieH1
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

You would not be able to see your parent's tax transcripts without their permission.  The request form requires a signature from the taxpayer. 

 When I worked with the IRS, we were never allowed to disclose sensitive information on the phone so I imagine that is still the policy which would prevent you from calling them.  You could send a letter, but I cannot say if you will get a response.

As far as the usage of the AOTC.  If you have used it too many times, the IRS will notify you for additional information.  Considering you have not received a letter yet, perhaps your parents did not use it.  

When the IRS notices a discrepancy in your tax file, they will notify you and if you took a credit you should not have used, they will charge you the difference in what you should have paid plus penalties and interest.

If you do not want to risk it this year you could possibly use the Lifetime Learning Credit if you qualify.

To qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit, the eligible student (whether it's you, a spouse, or a dependent) will need to meet these criteria:

  • The student must be enrolled at an eligible educational institution
  • The purpose of enrollment must be to obtain a degree or similar credential, get a job, or improve job skills
  • The student must be enrolled for at least one academic period per tax year, which is defined as either a semester, trimester, quarter, or any period of study as determined by the institution in question

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7 Replies
JulieH1
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

You would not be able to see your parent's tax transcripts without their permission.  The request form requires a signature from the taxpayer. 

 When I worked with the IRS, we were never allowed to disclose sensitive information on the phone so I imagine that is still the policy which would prevent you from calling them.  You could send a letter, but I cannot say if you will get a response.

As far as the usage of the AOTC.  If you have used it too many times, the IRS will notify you for additional information.  Considering you have not received a letter yet, perhaps your parents did not use it.  

When the IRS notices a discrepancy in your tax file, they will notify you and if you took a credit you should not have used, they will charge you the difference in what you should have paid plus penalties and interest.

If you do not want to risk it this year you could possibly use the Lifetime Learning Credit if you qualify.

To qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit, the eligible student (whether it's you, a spouse, or a dependent) will need to meet these criteria:

  • The student must be enrolled at an eligible educational institution
  • The purpose of enrollment must be to obtain a degree or similar credential, get a job, or improve job skills
  • The student must be enrolled for at least one academic period per tax year, which is defined as either a semester, trimester, quarter, or any period of study as determined by the institution in question
cl8
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

Thank you so much for the information! Because I already did my taxes for 2017 and it was approved, I will have to wait for the 2017 amending rules to be published here in a couple of weeks to amend my rerun to remove the AOTC. Just to be safe as I do qualify for the LLC. I have not received or heard anything from the IRS, so do you think I am good for the 2015 and 2016 tax years? Or do discrepancies take years for the IRS to notice? I would like to get ahead of my potential mistake and not worry about the IRS coming after me 10 years down the road with crazy penalties and interest when I could just amend the last 3 years now.
JulieH1
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

With the IRS, it is best to let them come to you with a mistake.  Since you really don't know, I would wait and see.  Make sure you get your 2017 refund before you try to amend.  When you try to amend and you have not gotten your refund, things can get very confused.
JulieH1
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

From the IRS website on audits...."Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If we identify a substantial error, we may add additional years. We usually don't go back more than the last six years. The IRS tries to audit tax returns as soon as possible after they are filed."

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

@TurboTaxJulieH1  Please reassure him about "crazy penalties"
JulieH1
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

Indeed @BobinCT!  If you want to proceed with an abundance of caution, amend.
cl8
New Member

No way of seeing my parents tax return. How can I see/tell if they claimed The American Opportunity Tax Credit when I was their dependent?

Thank you so much!

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