is college tuition tax deductable

persimmoncf

Persimmon Creek Farm
sons first year at towson university in Maryland I received a 2013 1098-T. My tax man said that tuition is NOT deductible. Can someone educate me. please
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Tuition is deductible if you meet certain (low) income requirements and the student is taking x-many hours during the year. The school sends you a 1098-T whether you qualify for the deduction or not.

You probably make too much money, in which case I think you should buy the next round. :cheers:
 

ebs

New Member
From UCI site:
Question: What is a 1098-T anyway?

Answer: Form 1098-T: Tuition Payments Statement is the information return that colleges and universities are required to issue for the purpose of determining a student's eligibility for the Hope and Lifetime Learning education tax credits.

From the IRS site:
"An eligible educational institution, such as a college or university in which you are
enrolled, and an insurer who makes reimbursements or refunds of qualified tuition and
related expenses to you must furnish this statement to you. You, or the person who
can claim you as a dependent, may be able to claim an education credit on Form 1040
or 1040A, only for the qualified tuition and related expenses that were actually paid in
2014. To see if you qualify for the credit, and for help in calculating the amount of your
credit, see Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education; Form 8863, Education Credits; and
the Form 1040 or 1040A instructions."

So if your student/family is eligible for Hope or Lifetime Learning credits, part of the amount you paid in tuition may be used as a credit. Tuition itself and in its entire amount is not deductible. I usually get a little bit of credit for my tuition I pay for grad school but it's not just a straight deduction. Your tax man should fill out Form 8863 to see if you qualify for either of the credits though
 
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persimmoncf

Persimmon Creek Farm
thanks for the info guys. I know I can always count on you all to keep it straight! Again thanks so much
 

FED_UP

Well-Known Member
sons first year at towson university in Maryland I received a 2013 1098-T. My tax man said that tuition is NOT deductible. Can someone educate me. please

I remember turning in about $900.00 in college receipt payments and it helped me get 50 bucks back on taxes, not much at all.
 

Vince

......
If I remember right, 10 years ago, yeah, there were a few years I used the tuition as a tax deduction. Got a tax accountant that does my taxes. He knows what's legal and what's not.
 

Tech

Well-Known Member
Your son will be sent the 1098-T, most likely electronic on his college account. Remind him to send it to you. Daughter sat on hers a month the first time, she didn't know what it was.
 

HorseQueen

New Member
sons first year at towson university in Maryland I received a 2013 1098-T. My tax man said that tuition is NOT deductible. Can someone educate me. please

I pay for my own college expenses and just did my taxes last night. This is my second year in college. The 1098 form is what you use to get some of that money back, thus you can use it as a deduction. Also, make sure your son (or yourself, if you're paying for it all) saves the receipts for all textbooks because that total can also be deducted at tax time!!! I wish I knew that my first year of college.

I am not sure how it is from a parent's perspective, but if your son held a job at all last year, you may want to consider having him claim himself at tax time. I used Turbo Tax and there was one of three major deductions I was able to use (Hope Credit, American Continuing Education Credit and some other credit), which is also nice.
 
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