TurboTax chose the Tuition and Fees duduction instead of American Opportunity Fund. My taxable income before the deduction was already below zero. How to fix?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
March 3, 2021
1 reply
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There is a bug in TurboTax 2020 where it selects a tuition deduction rather than the American Opportunity Credit while using the downloaded version. (WinPerReleaseMsi xxx.xxx.xxxx.
I am a 19 year-old Freshman at college (first year).
My gross income was less than the standard deduction, so my taxable income is zero.
The free on-line version of TurboTax successfully chooses the AOC instead of the Tuition Deduction.
How can I manualy fill out the Form in the Windows version of the app?

TurboTax Free Edition Online

KrisD15

You can type letme into the search-box and then click the "jump to letme" link

Here you should see which education credits you are eligible for and pick the one you want.

If there is an issue, you may need to go through the education interview and make sure the questions are answered correctly.

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Hal_Al

Employee

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, even if you don't qualify as a dependent, 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.