8917 Form for Tuition and Fees Tax Deduction

What is an 8917 Form?

Form 8917 is used to claim a tuition & fees deduction ^[1] and is filed with your 1040 ^[2].

The deduction can be up to $4,000 (depending on income and expense amounts) and is based on qualified education expenses paid to an eligible post secondary educational institution.

Am I Eligible to Use an 8917 Form?

You may be able to take the tuition & fees deduction on form 8917 if you, your spouse, or a dependent you claim was a student that had educational expenses in 2014 for academic periods beginning in 2014 and the first 3 months of 2015.

In addition:

• You can’t take both an education credit ^[3] (Form 8863 ^[4]) and the tuition & fees deduction (Form 8917) for the same student for the same year.
• You can’t use the 8917 IRS form to claim a tuition and fees deduction if any of the following apply:
• Your filing status ^[5] is married filing separately.
• Another person can claim an exemption ^[6] for you as a dependent on his or her tax return. You cannot take the deduction even if the other person does not actually claim that exemption.
• Your modified adjusted gross income ^[7] is more than $80,000 ($160,000 if filing a joint return).
• You were a nonresident alien for any part of the year & did not elect to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes.

What are Qualified Education Expenses?

Form 8917 IRS requirements for qualified education expenses are:

• Qualified education expenses include tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible postsecondary educational institution, but not including personal, living, or family expenses, such as room and board.
• Qualified education expenses must be reduced by any expenses paid using tax-free educational assistance, i.e. scholarships ^[8], grants, employer benefits. Generally, your university will list scholarships and grants on your 1098 T ^[9] to help you compute the eligible amount for your Form 8917 tax.

Where Can I Find Form 8917?

You can get an 8917 Form ^[10] and the 8917 instructions ^[10] at the IRS. More information on the deduction is available in publication 970 ^[11].

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