Hello all, I just learned that I have a Federal offset for one of my student loans. I usually file Married Filing Jointly, but I did not have any earned income for 2013. I have to file because I receive a 1099 from my school. So my question is; If I file the same this year, would our taxes be taken away even though I didn't have any income?

i gues it depends;UNLESS you are subject to the new American Opportunity Tax Credit for college expenses for refund, you do not have to file your return;you will be able to reduce your tax liability by one dollar for each dollar of credit for which you're eligible. If the amount of the American opportunity tax credit for which you're eligible exceeds your tax liability, the excess will be refunded to you up to the lesser of 40 percent of the credit or $1k.If you have not completed the first four years of post-secondary education as of the beginning of the taxable year, and has not claimed the Hope scholarship credit and/or the American opportunity tax credit for more than four taxable years, you can claim the American opportunity tax credit for qualified expenses paid during the entire taxable year.The American Opportunity Credit provides up to $2,500 for paying for an undergraduate student's tuition. The credit is partially refundable, meaning that you might be able to get 40 percent of the tax credit even if you have no tax liability. The credit is for the first $2,000 of tuition you paid, plus 25 percent of the next $2,000. After you calculate the amount of the credit, multiply it by 0.4 to find out how much is refundable. The other 60 percent of the credit can only be used to offset your tax liability. If your parents can claim you as a dependent, the credit is not refundable at all.






however, as long as you have taxable income, you may be able to use some of tstudent loan costs to reduce your tax liability when you file your income taxes by claiming the student loan interest deduction.


Note; you can claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit, even if you use a student loan to pay for 100% of your college expenses.However, you cannot claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit for expenses that were paid with a scholarship, grant, or tax-free educational assistance from an employer.