Does the cost of a life coaching certification program count toward a Lifetime Learning Credit?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 23, 2021
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I paid for a certification program, does that count as an education expense? I did not receive a 1098-T.

TurboTax Premier Online

MinhT1

The IRS says in this document:

Qualified expenses are amounts paid for tuition, fees and other related expense for an eligible student that are required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution.

The cost of a life coaching certification is not a qualified expense and cannot be used for the Lifetime Learning credit.

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Hal_Al

Employee

Yes.

To be eligible for LLC, the student must:

Be enrolled or taking courses at an eligible educational institution.
Be taking higher education course or courses to get a degree or other recognized education credential or to get or improve job skills.
Be enrolled for at least one academic period^* beginning in the tax year.

To be eligible for the tuition credits or tuition & fees deduction, the course must be taken at "an eligible institution". The school should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution. In general, an eligible educational institution is an accredited college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution, including accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately-owned, profit-making) postsecondary institutions. Additionally, in order to be an eligible educational institution, the school must be eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. If they issue a 1098-T they are probably an eligible institution.

Enter your school at the link below, to see if it's on the dept. of education list.

https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch?locale=en_EN (