education and tuition or llc

[TAXMAN]

Tp and spouse both working in private companies. They go take some religious classes to become ministers when retired(about 2 years). both received 1098-t for courses paid for but the boxes in 8 or 9 are NOT checked. I do not see how this could qualify as higher education allowable under either tuition and fees or the llc. Am I wrong?

[Patrick Michael]

As long as the educational institution is eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education I don't see why not

From Pub 970

Maximum credit		Up to $2,000 credit per return
Limit on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)		$130,000 if married filling jointly;   $65,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)
Refundable or nonrefundable		Nonrefundable—credit limited to the amount of tax you must pay on your taxable income
Number of years of postsecondary education		Available for all years of postsecondary education and for courses to acquire or improve job skills
Number of tax years credit available		Available for an unlimited number of tax years
Type of program required		Student doesn't need to be pursuing a program leading to a degree or other recognized education credential
Number of courses		Available for one or more courses
Felony drug conviction		Felony drug convictions don't make the student ineligible
Qualified expenses		Tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance (including amounts required to be paid to the institution for course-related books, supplies, and equipment)
Payments for academic periods		Payments made in 2015 for academic periods beginning in 2015 or beginning in the first 3 months of 2016

[kcjenkins]

Why not?  Education is education, in the government's eyes.  If they allow it for a kid at Brown University, taking their  "On Being Bored" class, why would these not qualify?  

http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/21/the-daily-caller-proudly-presents-the-dumbest-college-courses-for-2015/

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2009/10/100-hilarious-college-courses-that-really-exist/

 

[TAXMAN]

My problem is that the school where they took these classes is not an accredited school. It is not on the so called list and according to the school personel they are not accredited. I thought this was one of the standards that had to be met.

[kcjenkins]

16 hours ago, TAXMAN said:

My problem is that the school where they took these classes is not an accredited school. It is not on the so called list and according to the school personel they are not accredited. I thought this was one of the standards that had to be met.

Well, gee, that was a significant detail to leave out, don't you think?   Of course, given that fact, no education credit is available, no matter what the course was. 

[TAXMAN]

KC I just found that out also. I told TP he must inquire. at first TP said was until I pressed the issue. Thanks again for your help. I try not to post things here I can find out by research and then maybe a second opinion.

[SaraEA]

They got a 1098T from a nonaccredited school???  Never heard of that before.  According to the instructions for the T, "You must file Form 1098-T if you are an eligible educational institution," defined as "a college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution that is described in section 481 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as in effect on August 5, 1997, and that is eligible to participate in the Department of Education's student aid programs."  Maybe this "school" is trying to look legit to nonsuspecting students?

[Catherine]

14 hours ago, SaraEA said:

Maybe this "school" is trying to look legit to nonsuspecting students?

Or it is applying for/planning for accreditation and compliance with reg's like these will be expected?  So they jumped the gun?

[MAMalody]

I don't remember accreditation being a criteria of sectiion 481. In fact, there are schools out of the US that meet the criteria....at least I ran across one in Canada.  All I have to do now is remember the name.

[jklcpa]

To take either education credit, the school must be an eligible educational institution. From the IRS site (bold not mine):

An eligible educational institution is a school offering higher education beyond high school. It is any college, university, vocational school, or other post secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program run by the U.S. Department of Education.

This includes most accredited public, nonprofit and privately-owned–for-profit postsecondary institutions.

If you aren’t sure if your school is an eligible educational institution:

• Ask your school if it is an eligible educational institution, or
• See if your school is on the U.S. Federal Student Aid Code List. 

TIP: A small number of schools, not on this list, may be eligible educational institutions. So, you may need to ask the school.

[Lee B]

My youngest daughter went to college at Simon Frasier in Vancouver B C and received U S Federal Student Loans.

Actually a number of Canadian Colleges are eligible education institutions.

[Cathy]

Years back, one of my clients had a child attending a school in China that was accredited and participated in the Federal student aid program.  The taxpayers were thus able to take an education credit.