What do I enter for school EIN when my dependent studied at an overseas University? 00-000000 is not accepted. Overseas schools don't have EIN numbers

[DMarkM1]

According to Publication 970, to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) or Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), you must provide the educational institution's employer identification number (EIN) on your Form 8863. You should be able to obtain this information from Form 1098-T or the educational institution.

Further, to be eligible to claim the AOTC or the LLC, the law requires a taxpayer (or a dependent) to have received Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, from an eligible educational institution, whether domestic or foreign.

An eligible educational institution is one that is eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the US Department of  Education. 

• See if your school is on the U.S. Department of Education’s Database of Accredited Post Secondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP) or the Federal Student Loan Program list.

[Mango-muncher]

Sorry but this doesn't answer the question.  There seems to be a software bug.  I don't want AOTC and I can get LLC credit for overseas institutions, which are not required to have a federal EIN.  No 1098T is required.  Turbo Tax doesn't delete the 1098 T when it says it does.  I can't figure out how to stop this error message rom occuring even after deleting the 1098T

[RobertB4444]

Please clarify - are you saying your dependent is studying at one of the schools that is approved for the credit but that they have not issued you the tax form to you?  Because just paying tuition to a foreign school does not qualify you for the credit unless they are approved.

@Mango-muncher 

[Mango-muncher]

No, I am not interested in the credit.  I just want to submit my taxes taking into consideration that I used 529 to pay for educational expenses at an approved overseas school.  Turbo Tax has a bug in that I can't delete the 1098T as Turbo Tax seems to re-install it after I delete it.   Hal_al seems to be the closest as they mention I need to 'lie' to Turbo Tax to get it to do what I need to (submit the form whilst keeping authorised education expenses.  Best would be for Turbo Tax to fix the 1098 T bug.

[KrisD15]

We often struggle with the 1098-T.

You can delete the 1098-T as well as the student worksheet and Form 8862 (if that is also present) 

THAT should eliminate it from reappearing. 

You can either enter the 1099-Q and select that it was used for education expenses for someone not on the return, which will simply negate the distribution since it was used for education expenses, or just not enter the 1099-Q at all.  (Which means you would also need to delete the 1099-Q first) 

The 1098-T and 1099-Q are "Informational". Yes, the IRS get copies, and they would want to match a credit to a 1098-T, but if those forms have no tax consequences, they are not transmitted. 

[Mango-muncher]

Thanks these 1098T forms are a nightmare.  I have now deleted it and saw erroneous information on worksheet G, so tried deleting student information worksheet G.  However that took away all the education expenses which I need to justify a valid 529 withdrawal.  So, I reentered all the education expenses and 'deleted' the resulting 1098T form.  The only solution I have found for those annoying requirements of a valid US school, state zip code and EIN number is to put in fictitious EIN, state and school zip codes.  However this means that form 8863 is incorrect as it shows the overseas university with a ('valid') state and school zip code.  Does form 8863 get transmitted to the IRS?  If so, then my submission will be inaccurate due to the incorrect state and school zip codes and EIN number.  If form 8863 doesn't get transmitted, then what can I put in to ensure my submission goes given that I have an overseas (accredited) university and no (valid US) state, school zip codes nor EIN number?

[CatinaT1]

The withdrawal from your 529 plan is on a 1099-Q, correct?

I would follow KrisD15's advice above and not enter the 1099-Q at all.

You can either enter the 1099-Q and select that it was used for education expenses for someone not on the return, which will simply negate the distribution since it was used for education expenses, or just not enter the 1099-Q at all.  (Which means you would also need to delete the 1099-Q first) 

Form 8863 does get transmitted to the IRS.