Taxes

[GalyasTorpedo 0]

The Lifetime Learning Credit is 20% of tuition. One of the examples given of this is:

- The student took post-high school education or courses to acquire or improve job skills.

From my estimation, my wife's ESL class qualifies for this as she is taking the course to improve her job skills. Anyone else used this credit before?

Thanks.

[AlmostMex 0]

I plan on using it this year; I think the exact purpose of my husband's ESL classes are that - to improve job skills. He spoke well enough to communicate on a conversational basis, but needed the extra ESL classes in order to get a job in his career field.

[kc456 0]

That makes sense; I'd use it.

[lucyisblue 0]

I don't believe ESL classes qualify for the credit, the instructions state that it is for undergraduate and graduate level courses. Your college/university will send you a tuition statement (form 1098-T) if you have qualifying tuition.

[AlmostMex 0]

My husband's school did send us the tuition statement 1098-T, so in this case ESL classes do qualify I'd say.

It probably depends on where you take them; if from a church or similar loc, maybe not; but he's taking them at the local community college.

[GalyasTorpedo 0]

This IRS website says:

Eligible Education Institution. An eligible educational institution is an college, university, vocational school, or other post-secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. The educational institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution.

Under this, I think community colleges qualify.

The community college website stated:

The College will NOT mail the information reports to students who made payments for non credit courses. IRS Notice 98-49 provided that eligible postsecondary institutions were required to mail information reports only to students enrolled in credit courses.

So this particular community college does not mail 1098-T to students taking courses such as ESL. Which of course doesnt' imply they are eligible. They state the requirements as:

Liftetime Learning Tax Credit: Must be enrolled in at least one term, credit or non credit course. Does not have to be half-time. Tuition must have been paid in the tax year that is being filed.

Interesting stuff, so on the safe side the church courses and those held at local high schools may not be eligible but I'll keep digging.

[GalyasTorpedo 0]

Bitter. I just spoke with the tax office at the community college and they stated that she is not eligible for a 1098-T form to be issued because the courses she took were non-credit.

[GalyasTorpedo 0]

So under Expenses that Do Not Qualify on the IRS Website:

Sports, games, hobbies, and noncredit courses. Qualified education expenses generally do not include expenses that relate to any course of instruction or other education that involves sports, games or hobbies, or any noncredit course. However, if the course of instruction or other education is part of the student's degree program, these expenses can qualify.