Question

Sunny is 27 and is completing her bachelor's degree at an accredited college during 2019. She paid $7,500 in tuition during 2019 along with $300 in activity fees to be able to complete the needed classes on a full time basis. Sunny's AGI for 2019 will be $46,000. She will not be eligible to use any other education credits during 2019. What deduction for AGI will Sunny be able to claim in 2019 for her school expenses.

Answer 1

For 2019, the value of the Tuition and Fees Deduction began to phase out at AGIs of $60,000. If your adjusted gross income (AGI) is $60,000 or less, then you will qualify for the full $4,000 deduction. So here she gets a deduction of Tuition and fees of $4,000 only and balance of $3800 (7200+300-4000) is added along with her AGI and pay tax on it. But there has one criteria of education saying in tax laws that is the student attend any accredited K-12 school, university, community college, trade or vocational school, or adult/continuing education class, then generally you will qualify for some or all of the education tax credits or deductions. The degree you are pursuing should not matter whether you qualify or not (e.g. bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, a certificate, or even a PhD, for your post-secondary educational institution).