I've learned the hard way that the American Opportunity Act maxes out at 4 years. TurboTax allowed me to deduct for more than that, are they liable for the interest?

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
October 25, 2022
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TurboTax Premier Online

Bsch4477

Employee

TurboTax asks if you had that credit for 4 years. If answered correctly the program would not give you the credit.

xmasbaby0

Employee

TurboTax has no way to know if you ---- or maybe your parents who claimed you as a dependent---- used the AOC a total of four times, which is why it is incumbent upon you to find out if your parents (or whoever claimed you as a dependent) used the credit, so that you can add up how many times it was used. You can get the credit up to four times while you are an undergraduate, but every time it was used "counts" whether you used it yourself or whether it was used by someone else who claimed you.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Hal_Al

Employee

Q. Is TurboTax (TT) liable for the interest?

A. No.

Accuracy Guarantee https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/charges-and-fees/help/how-do-i-submit-a-claim-under-the-turbotax-100-accurate-calculation-guarantee-or-100-accurate-expert/00/26065

But it only covers actual calculation errors in the program, not user error (and it’s almost always user error). As others have said, the have you claimed the AOTC, in the past, question (then how many times) is a part of the interview. I suppose the weakness in the TT program is that it will allow you to skip answering that question.

Critter-3

Just because the IRS disallowed the AOTC doesn't mean you cannot amend your return to use the Lifetime Learning Credit instead.

How to amend (change or correct) a return you already filed

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/amending/help/how-to-amend-change-or-correct-a-return-you-already-...

Opus 17

Employee

If you got a letter disallowing the AOTC, you can try preparing an amended return to claim the LLC instead. Then, don't mail the amended return to the general address for the amended return, mail it to the office that sent the notice along with a letter of explanation and a check if you owe a difference (but probably less than The IRS said you owed).

(The IRS will be quite happy to disallow the AOTC, but they won't automatically give you the LLC even though you probably qualify, because they only consider what you put in writing and don't give freebies even if you qualify.)