Tuition and Fees Deduction Form 8917 You claim a tuition and fees deduction by completing Form 8917 and submitting it with your Form 1040 or Form 1040A. Enter the deduction on Form 1040, line 34, or Form 1040A, line 19. Get the form: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8917.pdf When the Tuition and Fees Deduction Must Be Repaid If, after you file your tax return, you or someone else receives tax-free educational assistance for, or a refund of, an expense you used to figure a tuition and fees deduction on that return, you may have to repay all or part of the deduction. This applies to assistance and refunds received by the individual claiming the deduction, and, in the case of a student who claims the deduction, refunds received by anyone else who paid such expenses for the student. You must include the assistance or refund in income in the year you receive it to the extent that the deduction of the refunded amount reduced your tax. Refigure your tuition and fees deduction for last year as if the tax-free assistance or refund was received last year. Subtract the amount of the refigured deduction from the amount of the deduction you claimed on your tax return from last year. The result is the amount you must include in income (recapture). Add the recapture amount to your income for the year in which you received the assistance or refund by entering it on the Other Income line of Form 1040. Form 1040A cannot be used. Your 2008 tax return does not change. Tuition and Fees Deduction Example You paid $3,000 tuition and fees in December 2008, and your child began college in January 2009. You filed your 2008 tax return on February 15, 2009, and claimed a tuition and fees deduction of $3,000. After you filed your return, your child dropped two courses and you received a refund of $1,400. You must refigure your 2008 tuition and fees deduction using $1,600 of qualified education expenses instead of $3,000. The refigured deduction is $1,600. You must include the difference of $1,400 on the Other income line of your 2009 Form 1040. Illustrated Example Tim, a single taxpayer, enrolled full-time at a local college to earn a degree in engineering. This is the first year of his postsecondary education. During 2008, he paid $3,600 for his qualified 2008 tuition. Both he and the college meet all of the requirements for the tuition and fees deduction. His total income (Form 1040, line 22) and MAGI are $26,000. His income tax liability, before credits, is $2,160. He figures his deduction of $3,600 as shown, later, on Form 8917.