8917 T uition and Fees Deduction

2007 Form 8917 Tuition and Fees Deduction
Purpose: This is the first circulated draft of Form 8917 for your review and comments.
See below for a description of major changes.
TPCC Meeting: There is no meeting scheduled, but you may request one.
Other Products: Circulations of draft tax forms, instructions, notices, and publications
are posted at:
http://taxforms.web.irs.gov/draft_products.html
Comments: Please email, fax, call, or mail any comments by May 25, 2007.
Moneta S. Howland
Tax Forms and Publications
SE:W:CAR:MP:T:I:S
Email: moneta.s.howland@irs.gov
Phone: 202-622-3161
Fax: 202-622-5022
Description of Major Changes
1. This is a new form we are creating in response to a request by TIGTA to
capture applicable information for the tuition and fees deduction to ensure
compliance and promote simplicity and fairness. It is based on the
worksheet that was a part of the 2005 Form 1040 instructions and the
changes listed below refer to that worksheet. This form is based on IRC 222,
recently extended by PL 109-432, sec. 101.
2. We added line 1, columns (a) through (c) to capture pertinent information
about the student as a result of the TIGTA request.
3. The year and line number references were updated throughout.

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I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 8917, PAGE 1 of 2
MARGINS: TOP 13mm (1⁄ 2 "), CENTER SIDES.
PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
PAPER: WHITE WRITING, SUB. 20.
INK: BLACK
FLAT SIZE: 203mm (8") x 279mm (11")
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8917

Action

Date

O.K. to print
Revised proofs
requested

OMB No. 1545-0074

Tuition and Fees Deduction

Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service

2007

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©

Name(s) shown on return

Signature

© See Instructions.
Attach to Form 1040 or Form 1040A.

Attachment
Sequence No.

63

Your social security number

Caution: You cannot take both an education credit and the tuition and fees deduction (Form 1040, line 34, or Form 1040A,
line 19) for the same student in the same year.
Before you begin: u Figure any write-in adjustments to be entered on the dotted line next to Form 1040, line 36 (see the
Form 1040 instructions for line 36).
u If you file Form 2555, 2555-EZ, or 4563, or you exclude income from sources within Puerto Rico, use
the worksheet in Pub. 970 to figure your entry on line 5 below. Do not complete lines 3 and 4.
1

(a) Student’s name (as shown on page 1 of your tax return)
First name

Last name

(b) Student’s social security
number (as shown on page
1 of your tax return)

2

2

Add the amounts on line 1, column (c), and enter the total

3

Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 22, or Form 1040A, line 15

3

4

Enter the total from either:
● Form 1040, lines 23 through 33, plus any write-in adjustments
entered on the dotted line next to Form 1040, line 36, or
● Form 1040A, lines 16 through 18

4

5

6

(c) Qualified
expenses (see
instructions)

Subtract line 4 from line 3.* If the result is more than $80,000 ($160,000 if married filing jointly),
stop; you cannot take the deduction for tuition and fees
Tuition and fees deduction. Is the amount on line 5 more than $65,000 ($130,000 if married
filing jointly)?
Yes. Enter the amount from line 2, but do not enter more than $2,000. Also enter
this amount on Form 1040, line 34, or Form 1040A, line 19.
No. Enter the amount from line 2, but do not enter more than $4,000. Also enter
this amount on Form 1040, line 34, or Form 1040A, line 19.

%

5

6

*If you are filing Form 2555, 2555-EZ, or 4563, or you are excluding income from Puerto Rico, see Pub. 970 for the amount to enter.

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless
otherwise noted.

General Instructions
Purpose of Form
Use Form 8917 to figure and take the deduction for tuition and
fees expenses in 2007.
This deduction is based on qualified education expenses
paid to an eligible postsecondary educational institution. See
What Expenses Qualify, later, for more information.

Who Can Take the Deduction
You may be able to take the deduction if you, your spouse, or a
dependent you claim on your tax return was a student enrolled at
or attending an eligible educational institution. The deduction is
based on the amount of qualified education expenses you paid for
the student in 2007 for academic periods beginning in 2007 and
the first 3 months of 2008.
Qualified education expenses must be reduced by
any expenses paid directly or indirectly using tax-free
CAUTION
educational assistance. See Adjustments to qualified
education expenses.
For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see back of form.

Generally, in order to claim the deduction for qualified
education expenses for a dependent, you must have paid the
expenses and must claim an exemption for the student as a
dependent (line 6c of Form 1040 or 1040A). For additional
information, see Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education.
You cannot claim the tuition and fees deduction if any of
the following apply.
● Your filing status is married filing separately.
● Another person can claim an exemption 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 (MAGI) is more than
$80,000 ($160,000 if filing a joint return).
● You were a nonresident alien for any part of the year and
did not elect to be treated as a resident alien for tax
purposes. More information on nonresident aliens can be
found in Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.
● You or anyone else claims a Hope or lifetime learning
credit in 2007 with respect to expenses of the student for
whom the qualified education expenses were paid.
Cat. No. 37728P

Form

8917

(2007)

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I.R.S. SPECIFICATIONS
TO BE REMOVED BEFORE PRINTING
INSTRUCTIONS TO PRINTERS
FORM 8917, PAGE 2 of 2
MARGINS: TOP 13mm (1⁄ 2 "), CENTER SIDES.
PRINTS: HEAD TO HEAD
PAPER: WHITE WRITING, SUB. 20.
INK: BLACK
FLAT SIZE: 203mm (8") x 279mm (11")
PERFORATE: (NONE)
DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT — DO NOT PRINT

Form 8917 (2007)

What Expenses Qualify

Page

2

Who Is an Eligible Student

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Qualified education expenses. For purposes of the tuition
and fees deduction, qualified education expenses are tuition
and certain related expenses required for enrollment or
attendance at an eligible educational institution. It does not
matter whether the expenses were paid in cash, by check,
by credit card, or with borrowed funds.

Qualified education expenses do not include amounts paid
for:
● Room and board, insurance, medical expenses (including
student health fees), transportation, or other similar personal,
living, or family expenses.
● Any course or other education involving sports, games, or
hobbies, or any noncredit course, unless such course or
other education is part of the student’s degree program.

You should receive Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, from
the college or university reporting either payments received in
box 1 or amounts billed in box 2. However, the amounts in
boxes 1 and 2 of Form 1098-T may be different than what
you actually paid. On Form 8917, line 1, enter only the
amounts you paid in 2007 for qualified expenses.
If you or the student take a deduction for higher education
expenses, such as on Schedule A or Schedule C (Form
1040), you cannot use those expenses when figuring your
tuition and fees deduction.
Any qualified expenses used to figure this deduction
cannot be taken into account in determining the
amount of a distribution from a Coverdell ESA or a
qualified tuition program that is excluded from gross income.
CAUTION

Eligible educational institution. An eligible educational
institution is any college, university, vocational school, or
other postsecondary educational institution eligible to
participate in a student aid program administered by the
Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited
public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned
profit-making) postsecondary institutions. The educational
institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible
educational institution.
Certain educational institutions located outside the United
States also participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s
Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs.
Adjustments to qualified education expenses. If you pay
qualified education expenses with certain tax-free funds, you
cannot claim a deduction for those amounts. You must
reduce the qualified education expenses by the amount of
any tax-free educational assistance and refund(s) you
received. This includes a tax-free scholarship or Pell grant or
tax-free employer-provided educational assistance.
If you receive a refund or tax-free assistance after you file
your return for the year in which the expenses were paid, you
will not be able to reduce your qualified expenses before
figuring the deduction. Instead, you may have to repay all or
part of the deduction. See Pub. 970 for specific information.

For purposes of the tuition and fees deduction, an eligible student
is a student who is enrolled in one or more courses at an eligible
educational institution (as defined under Qualified Education
Expenses, earlier). The student must have either a high school
diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) credential.

More Information

See Pub. 970, Tax Benefits for Education, for more
information about this deduction.

Specific Instructions

Line 1

Complete columns (a) through (c) on line 1 for each student who
qualifies for and for whom you elect to take the tuition and fees
deduction.
Note. If you have more than three students who qualify for the
tuition and fees deduction, enter “See attached” next to line 1 and
attach a statement with the required information for each
additional student. Include the amounts from line 1, column (c), for
all students in the total you enter on line 2.

Column (c)

For each student, enter the amount of qualified education
expenses remaining after reduction by certain tax-free amounts
and refunds, as explained earlier. The expenses must have been
paid for the student in 2007 for academic periods beginning after
2006 but before April 1, 2008.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the information on
this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of the United
States. You are required to give us the information. We need it to
ensure that you are complying with these laws and to allow us to
figure and collect the right amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the information requested
on a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books
or records relating to a form or its instructions must be
retained as long as their contents may become material in
the administration of any Internal Revenue law. Generally, tax
returns and return information are confidential, as required by
section 6103.
The average time and expenses required to complete and
file this form will vary depending on individual circumstances.
For the estimated averages, see the instructions for your
income tax return.
If you have suggestions for making this form simpler, we
would be happy to hear from you. See the instructions for
your income tax return.

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