Education credits due diligence

[unzuetay]

A question on Form 8867 about American Opportunity Tax Credit:

Question 11:

"It just seems redundant"

What does everyone else think?

This made me smile. Irs is redundant.

[Lion]

I have a couple of colleges that print the statement on the back of 1098-T and a few parents who know to have the statement with their tax documents. If you do NOT have detail with dates, then ask your client to get a statement from the college.

[RightOn]

I have a couple of colleges that print the statement on the back of 1098-T and a few parents who know to have the statement with their tax documents. If you do NOT have detail with dates, then ask your client to get a statement from the college.

Is the statement called 'payments transcript'?

I have always asked students to go download a transactions record from their student account at school. Are they all just the same document that we have been talking about?

[mastertaxguy]

What else might be on student account transcript....

not that i disagree with you, but i just still do not understand. If the school has the total payments made reported in box 1 already, what purpose would it serve to get the payments transcript from the school?

I am thinking that if the school's accounting system is so messed up that they could have added up the payments made during the year incorrectly and so reported a wrong amount in box 1, why would we think that the information on the school payments transcript must be correct?

1. Books.
2. Required fees.
3. Grants
4. Scholarships
5. Loans
6. Refunds of amounts shown on 1098-t as received for tuition (maybe from excess scholarships, grants, loans, etc)
7. Generally educational expenses which may qualify for education credits besides tuition
8. Status of student (full/part time, etc).

[Burke]

Is the statement called 'payments transcript'?

I have always asked students to go download a transactions record from their student account at school. Are they all just the same document that we have been talking about?

Yes, it is.