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TurboTax selected American Opportunity credit. I may have already claimed it 4 years with TurboTax. Received letter from the IRS. Why would TurboTax select this option?

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
May 31, 2019
9 replies
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I believe this credit was already claimed 4 times. Received letter from the IRS that shows $0 as corrected credit. Do I need to amend and claim the lifetime credit instead? And why would TurboTax not know I used American Opportunity 4 times already through them?

Best answer by Hal_Al

Yes, amend your return to claim the Lifetime Learning Credit. Reply to the IRS office that sent the letter and include the amended return.

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SweetieJean

TT selects the option based on your answers to the questions.

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robyncutlipAuthor

It only calculated the best return even though I shouldn't be able to claim it

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robyncutlipAuthor

I wasn't asked if I had claimed this option 4 times already...

Hal_Al

Yes, you were. EVERYBODY is asked that question.

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SweetieJean

@Hal_Al Do you know the answer to this?
"And why would TurboTax not know I used American Opportunity 4 times already through them?"

Hal_Al

Even if your had used TT for the four previous years, TT does not keep a running total. Instead, it simply asks you the question; how many time have you claimed it. Whether that is a flaw in the program is a matter of opinion.

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robyncutlipAuthor

Hmm, I just went through the amend program and it still never asked me how man times I used it and it chose American Opportunity again, weird. I found how to manually select the Lifetime Learning credit though. Thanks for the info

Hal_Al

That is a flaw in TT: It won't let you back to certain screens to change your answer.

Hal_AlAnswer

Yes, amend your return to claim the Lifetime Learning Credit. Reply to the IRS office that sent the letter and include the amended return.