How to amend my 2018 Return to claim the Tuition and Fees Deduction re-instated in December 2019?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 8, 2020
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I entered my 1098-T information when I filed my tax return for 2018. However, I did not receive any credit from it since the Tuition and Fees Deduction apparently expired in 2017. Then Congress re-instated the Tuition and Fees Deduction (TFD) back in December 2019 and made it retroactive for 2018. Now I'm trying to amend my return for 2018 to try and claim this credit, but don't see a way to do this or where to enter the information. Turbotax still does not give me any credit based on the 1098-T already entered. Is it possible that Turbotax 2018 was not updated to reflect the tax changes Congress made in December 2019? I did auto-update TurboTax just before trying to amend my 2018 return.

JohnW152

First, make sure you that you actually qualify for the deduction, and there's a benefit to amending your return.

You don't need to amend if any of the below apply:

You're single or head of household, with an AGI over $80,000.
You're married filing jointly, with an AGI over $160,000.
You're married filing separately.
Another person (usually your parents) can claim an exemption for you as a dependent on their tax return (whether or not they actually do it).

You can choose to amend if all of the below apply:

You had qualifying education expenses.
You didn't qualify for the American opportunity credit or lifetime learning credit.
You had an AGI under the above-listed limits.

Some states also have a tax break for tuition and fees. If you filed a state tax return and your state conforms to the federal law changes for tuition and fees, check if this applies to you and amend your state tax return as well to take this tax break.

Keep in mind: You have 3 years from the date you filed your 2018 return (or 2 years after you paid the tax due, whichever is later) to file an amended return, which means you don't have to get it done by the April 15 filing deadline.

How to amend in TurboTax Online

How to amend in TurboTax CD/Download