About paid school tuition for my child

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
April 7, 2021
1 reply
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We have paid $30000 for our child tuition in law school. My child is able to file her tax separately, but the tuition was paid by us. Should this paid tuition be tax deductible? and How to process it in turbotax?

Best answer by yzgm09

Grad students aren't eligible for the more generous American Opportunity Credit, But you can claim the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC)

For TY2020, the amount of your LLC is gradually reduced (phased out) if your MAGI is between $59,000 and $69,000 ($118,000 and $138,000 if you file a joint return).
You can’t claim the credit if your MAGI is $69,000 or more ($138,000 or more if you file a joint return).

I agree, the reasons TT is giving is not correct. Try deleting the student and re-entering. Go through the entire education interview until you reach a screen titled "Your Education Expenses Summary". Click delete next to the student's name. You'll then get the "Your Education Expenses Summary" screen again. Click the "Add a student" button. You'll have to re-enter all her ed info.

Also be sure she qualified as your dependent.

Really helpful, thank you for your information!

Hal_Al

Employee

If the student is not your dependent, you may not claim any credit or deduction for tuition you paid. But, the student may claim a credit on her return, and count the money you paid toward that credit or deduction.

If the student is your dependent, you not only claim what you paid, you claim what she paid also.

In TurboTax (TT), enter at:

Federal Taxes Tab (Personal for H&B version)

Deductions & Credits

-Scroll down to:

--Education

--Education Expenses

yzgm09Author

Thanks for the reply.

My child is 25 years old, in law school for graduate study, without any income. We paid her tuition. So we are still able to claim her as dependent during her study in school these years? We thought she is not young, so she started to file tax return herself from last year.

Hal_Al

Employee

There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and standard ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit and student status test, a relationship test and a residence test.

Since she is older than 23, she can no longer be a QC. But, a person can still be a Qualifying relative dependent, if not a Qualifying Child, if he meets the 6 tests for claiming a dependent:

Closely Related OR live with the taxpayer ALL year
His/her gross taxable income for the year must be less than $4300 (2020).
The taxpayer must have provided more than 1/2 his support

In either case:

He must be a US citizen or resident of the US, Canada or Mexico
He must not file a joint return with his spouse or be claiming a dependent of his own
He must not be the qualifying child of another taxpayer