Who should pay for better TAX Incentives : Parent or Single independent student?

Paying for College
1

<p>I’ll be taking some non-degree certificate courses in NYU. It’ll cost slightly less than a celebrity divorce. Here are the factors to consider : </p>

<h1>If I just pay out of my own pocket the full amount is that better than –</h1>

<h1>Without showing me as dependent, my parents paying for it and showing it in their tax return as contribution to my education?</h1>

<h1>Me just taking the money from them but not saying I received it from them and spending it as if I spent it out of my own pocket (On a scale from well, bad fashion to well, tax fraud, how illegal is this?)</h1>

<h1>These certificates will not go towards any sort of degree/college credit but I will get Continuing education Credit</h1>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Do you mean the lifetime learning credit? I have never heard of the continuing education credit.</p>

<p>For the LLC, If your parents claim you as a dependent on their taxes, only they can claim the credit. The payments are treated as made by them whoever pays them.</p>

<p>If you are not their dependent and are able to claim your own exemption for taxes, only you can claim the credit. The payments are treated as made by you, whoever actually pays them.</p>

<p>Basically, whoever gets the exemption for you gets the credit.</p>

<p>IRS970 explains the various education tax benefits.</p>