Illustrated Example(p42)

Tim Pfister, a single taxpayer, enrolled full-time at a local college to earn a degree in engineering. This is the first year of his postsecondary education. During 2011, he paid $3,600 for his qualified 2011 tuition expense. Both he and the college meet all of the requirements for the tuition and fees deduction. Tim's total income (Form 1040, line 22) and MAGI are $26,000. He figures his deduction of $3,600 as shown on Form 8917, later. taxmap/pubs/p970-032.htm#en_us_publink1000178386

Worksheet 6-1. MAGI for the Tuition and Fees Deduction Use this worksheet if you are filing Form 2555, 2555-EZ, or 4563, or you are excluding income from sources within Puerto Rico. Before using this worksheet, you must complete Form 1040, lines 7 through 33, and figure any amount to be entered on the dotted line next to line 36.  1. Enter the amount from Form 1040, line 22    1.        2. Enter the total from Form 1040, lines 23 through 33   2.              3. Enter the total of any amounts entered on the dotted line next to Form 1040, line 36   3.              4. Add lines 2 and 3    4.        5. Subtract line 4 from line 1    5.        6. Enter your foreign earned income exclusion and/or housing exclusion (Form 2555, line 45, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18)    6.        7. Enter your foreign housing deduction (Form 2555, line 50)    7.        8. Enter the amount of income from Puerto Rico you are excluding    8.        9. Enter the amount of income from American Samoa you are excluding (Form 4563, line 15)    9.       10. Add lines 5 through 9. This is your modified adjusted gross income   10.   Note. If the amount on line 10 is more than $80,000 ($160,000 if married filing jointly), you cannot take the deduction for tuition and fees.