Tuition Credit vs. AOTC

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
March 18, 2020
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TurboTax told me that the only education credit I qualified for is the $4000 tuition credit. I filed my return and received my $20 refund. An accountant later told me I should qualify for the AOTC ( American Opportunity Tax Credit) and had me put all of my info into HR BLOCK. I put the exact same info into HR Block and it tells me that the best option is the refundable AOTC. It says me refund is $1020 because I only receive the $1000 of the $2500 of the AOTC because of my income.

I want to file my amendment through Turbo Tax. I shouldn't have to pay for an accountant to do it when it was obviously a software issue! I used the CD software option from Costco - not the online.

I tried the "letme" option to manually change it and it still says the AOTC would give me zero.

Hal_Al

Employee

If you are eligible, you have answered something wrong, in the interview. But, a lot of people are just not eligible. See https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/AOTC

There's a new urban myth among college students that says they can get a $1000 from the government just for filing a tax form. For most of them, they simply aren't eligible. A full time unmarried student, under age 24, is only eligible for the refundable portion of the American Opportunity Credit if he supports himself by working. You cannot be supporting yourself on parental support, 529 plans or student loans & grants. You usually must have actually paid tuition, not had it paid by scholarships & grants. It is usually best if the parent claims that credit.

You cannot claim a credit if you are, or can be, claimed as a dependent by someone else.

When Turbotax (TT) sees from your birth date that you are under 24, it specifically asks if you provided more than half your support with earned income.

Also see this TT FAQ https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3383321-why-didn-t-i-get-a-credit-or-deduction-for-education-expenses