Breakdown of college fees for taxes

Paying for College
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<p>Ok, this is probably going to sound very stupid, but my son's school does not give breakdowns of the amount we paid. For instance, they don't give how much we paid towards room and board, tuition etc. Don't I need this for my taxes? or is there a set amount that can be used as a deduction? Any help will be appreciated!</p>

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<p>Your school should have a web page that shows such costs. It should have entries like this one: [Reed</a> College | Financial Aid | REED COLLEGE - Financial Aid](<a href=“http://www.reed.edu/financialaid/cost_of_attendance.html]Reed”>http://www.reed.edu/financialaid/cost_of_attendance.html)</p>

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<p>Some schools have a single, “Comprehensive” fee that includes everything. I think that there is a section dealing with that in the IRS tax document covering college deductions and credits.</p>

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<p>My D took some college classes while in high school in 2008 and the college sent us a Form 1098-T Tuition Statement in the mail. It says the information is being furnished to the IRS. Perhaps you could call the college and ask for a copy of this form.</p>

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<p>OK…this may sound like a dumb reply…but don’t YOU keep track of how much you are paying to the college? We have very meticulous records here at our house either for the amounts we pay to TuitionPay each month…or what we pay directly to the college(s). I KNOW how much I’ve written in checks to the college to one payment place or another. THAT is the amount I use for my taxes.</p>

<p>If your child receives any kind of scholarship or grant, you should be receiving a 1098T from the school which will give you the amount of tuition costs, AND the amount of aid your child received. You can also access this 1098 T online (I did this and printed it out) but to be honest, I don’t remember the site…it may have been IRS.gov. I needed my kid’s social security number and the name of her school to do this.</p>

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<p>Thanks to everyone. I don’t think I made myself clear in my question. I DO have record of every penny I have sent in and I do have the schools breakdown of how much tuition is verses room and board. My son also has received 2 scholarships which go towards the “family contribution”, so I don’t know exactly how much of my monthly pmts are going towards the each individual areas. When I called the school they said they can’t break it up for me. I hope this makes it more clear.</p>

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<p>Here’s a link to Dartmouth’s handy “Tax Filing Rules for Students.” Hope it helps!
<a href=“Home | Dartmouth Admissions”>Home | Dartmouth Admissions;

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<p>Okay, don’t shoot me, I don’t do my own taxes, and my kids aren’t in college yet.</p>

<p>What part of tuition/room/board/fees/general COA is tax deductible? And where do you deduct it?</p>

<p>Assume no financial aid, no loans, no grants, just pure hard-earned cash.</p>

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<p>None of it is “deductible”. However, there are college tax credits for which students are eligible below certain family income levels.</p>

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<p>IRS970 is the tax publication with the current education tax information.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf[/url]”>http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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You should actually receive a 1098T from the school even if your child doesn’t get any kind of scholarship or grant. Sometimes, however, this form is emailed to the student or provided online. As your child.</p>

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<p>Page 36, thanks swimcatsmom.</p>