Tax question, how would you interpret student status

Cutemin

I am doing someone's taxes for them using H&R at Home.  But am having trouble figuring out which education credits she qualifies for.  It asks if she is a student in the first 4 yrs of a post secondary education.  Well, she is in her 5th year of college at a 2 yr school.  BUT, her first two years were non-credit 09- level courses.  Also ,it asks if she is at least half time, she takes no more than 6 credits a semester.  It doesn't define half time.  I have asked for her mother to look up what how many years they claimed her college tuition, I was going to go by that.  If they claimed it for 4 years already.

As it stand now, she worked 5 months out of the year and made less than $3000 working, then collected $3200 in unemployment benefits.  She paid in a grand total of $126 in federal and $61 in state.  Her 'refund' is just over $1000 federal and $261 in state.  It just seems so wrong to be getting so much free money for doing nothing!!!

RenannCoops

When my accountant does my taxes, I give her my tution bill paid receipt.

She gives me a credit for that. I have never claimed student status. I was always in grad school and post graduate school when I received this credit. I was also always working - either full time or part time). I also was never taking more than 6 credit hours a semester and in the summer.

Hope this helps....

MsZoeB

A full-time student is considered to be taking 12 credits or more so anything under that would be part-time IMO. The way to determine what "year" she is in would be to see how many college credits she has and what her class standing is.

Typically, a 4yr institution requires approximately 120+ credits to graduate so if they have earned 60 credits then they would be of sophomore standing. 

I assume that her parents aren't claiming her on their taxes and that she is paying for schooling. If that is the case then I would say you can claim the education credit. 

You may want to go to irs.gov to check the language of the various education credit criteria. 

Susie Derkins

I don't know the answer, but if you go the MM board, there's a specific 'Tax Talk' board, with link to it right at the top of the list of MM posts.  Good place to go with tax-specific questions, with some very knowledgeable posters.

MelissaSue81

Those questions all have to do with the "hope credit" I believe.. We always claim DH's tuition.. but don't take that credit.. The tuition tax statement will say whether she is half-time or not.. At least ours did. As for the more than 4 years thing.. I would think the first two years still count if she paid tuition for them.