Hi there
I always have a question regarding UCLA tuition. My estimated tuition, including on campus housing, books, food, and UC health insurance, is $34000 in total. I got $19000 of financial aid. Hence when I report taxes annually (through turbotax), I will report all my tuitions and cost, will the government refund the amount of money that’s not covered by financial aid (around $15000)? Or they won’t ?
No… and no idea where you got that idea. Research the American Opportunity Credit, but that is all I am aware of. Basically you are on the hook for that $15K, and you aren’t getting money from the government to cover it.
You may be eligible to borrow money (federal student loans), but that is done through a different process.
cause when I report my previous years’ taxes, they asked me about my cost of the community college I attended, including tuitions and other educational costs like books, electronic devices, and many others, and at the end, federal government did refund those money back to me with the amount I reported. So I am wondering will the government also cover my on-campus housing cost
Turbotax may ask that question but that doesn’t mean it was all a deduction and surely not a credit. A deduction reduces your income so $50,000 income less $15,000 in mortgage interest and charitable contributions would be a taxable income of $35,000 (simplified for here). A $1,000 tax credit (say child tax credit) would reduce your tax owed dollar for dollar so if you owned $3,000 in taxes, you would owe $2,000 after a $1,000 credit.
The only option for your prior year is you misunderstood or did something wrong in which case it will come back to haunt you you. I expect it’s just a misunderstanding.