My son attended school in London during Fall Quarter. He did the program through AIFS which organizes Study Abroad experiences for US college students. His costs for the quarter were close to $18,000, tuition and fees accounting for about $12,000 of that. The school does have a US School code for financial aid purposes, but because we paid his fees directly to AIFS, who then paid the school for his program, neither the school or AIFS provide a 1098T. AIFS did provide a detailed invoice/statement breaking down his fees, what every dollar went to, and and showing our payments. We are usually able to do the American Opportunity Credit because his Qualified Educational Expenses on the1098T have always been more then his tax free aid. But without that money paid to school in London showing up on his 1098T with qualified education expenses, the "tax free assistance" is skewed and appears to be more than what we paid for qualified ed expenses, thus no AOC. Must we have a 1098T to verify expenses paid, or can we use the invoice from AIFS, provide the London School's US School Code, and add the tuition and required fee amounts paid to the London school to what he paid his regular US school last Winter and Spring quarter?If we do that, it will give me that American Opportunity Credit. I'm a single mom and took a big hit helping my son do this and it will help me out if I can get a little of it back in this credit. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

No foreign educational institution issues 1098T. As long as the college in london is qualified under IRS rules then ,you can deduct your kid’s educational expenses.On the contrary, if the college is not qualified under IRS rules, you can’t deduct anything. Certain educational institutions located outside the US also participate in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid programs. Actually, you do not need a 1098T for ed. expense tax deduction on your return. You can keep ed expenses receipts that you receive from a college in london / invoice from aifs as evidence. The government wants proof that you are taking legitimate ed. deductions. Receipts showing exactly what you spent your money on is the best proof that you can provide. Receipts are important if the IRS decides to audit your tax return. You'll need to provide them to the IRS to prove that the deductions you claimed really were educational expenses.
In most cases federal student loans like the Stafford Loan, the Perkins Loan, and the PLUS Loan can be used to study abroad. Thefederal loans can only be used to pay for expenses like tuition, room & board, and other fees directly related to your kid’s educational costs in uk. If you pay interest on a student loan, you can deduct the value of that interest from your taxable income. The deduction for interest paid on a student loan is one of several tax benefits for education. It is a special deduction that can be taken on your U.S. federal income tax return as an adjustment to income(Your filing status is any status except married filing separately). The deduction reduces your income subject to tax, and you do not need to itemize in order to take this deduction.

thanks for the info...I will pass this on to my son's Study Abroad classmates...

Thanks so much for the info....