Can I claim student loans and money spent on books during my college years from 2001 to 2006? Is it too late?

Question

I was told by a friend that any money I spent on books and other school related stuff can be claimed on my taxes as well as any financial aid and student loans. I still have all my check stubs from my finaid disbursements and receipts from all my books, are they of any use to me now? I have stuff dating from 2001 to 2006 when I graduated from college. Thanks! :)

Answer 1

Your friend is only partially right.

Tuition and fees can be claimed for education credits. If you were a dependent, then your parents (if you were their dependent) could claim the credits - if you weren't a dependent of anyone, you could claim them. Books and other supplies can rarely be claimed unless particular rules are met, and normally those rules are NOT met.

You don't claim loans, although you can usually claim interest paid on them in the year the interest is paid.

If you didn't take education credits you were entitled to, you can amend your returns and claim them for 2004-2006.
To amend 2003 and get a refund, you have to do it by midnight tomorrow. For 2001 and 2002 , it's already too late to get a refund.

Answer 2

I could actually give a decent answer to this, but I think you really don't care about the answer. You're probably satisfied that your question is so clever. That being said, the bottom line is that spending did not go down in those years and thus we had a Democratic Congress elected in '06 and a Democratic President in '08. We see how well that stopped the spending, didn't we?

Answer 3

I have gone through this before. You can file an amendment. I believe it's a form 1040-X. However, if you want to make sure, you can call your local H&R Block or any tax service and ask to make sure. I actually had my taxes done when I had to go back and amend. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Get a good accountant and go for it.