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Ezel / Tax Rulings / IL
IL IT 10-0029-GIL Illinois Income Tax 2010-12-07

Could parents claim the Illinois education expense credit for dependent children who had no Social Security numbers because of a religious exemption?

Short answer: Yes. After reviewing the federal return and the statement concerning the approved IRS Form 4029 religious exemption, IDOR corrected the Illinois return to allow a $313 education expense credit and said the taxpayers would receive a refund of that amount plus the interest and penalties they had paid. To prevent future Social Security number verification rejections, IDOR instructed them to attach the GIL and their Form 4029 exemption statement to later Illinois returns.

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2010. Ezel answers yours, under current Illinois tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2010
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is an official 2010 Illinois Department of Revenue General Information Letter correcting the stated education-expense-credit rejection after review of an approved federal Form 4029 religious exemption. A GIL is NOT a statement of Department policy and is NOT binding on the Department. Dependent status, qualifying expenses, exemption approval and documentation, return year, verification procedures, credit limits, and current forms and law can change the result.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

The parents could receive the Illinois education expense credit even though their dependent children had no Social Security numbers because of the family's religious exemption. IDOR verified the federal return and the statement concerning the approved IRS Form 4029 exemption, then corrected the Illinois return to allow a $313 credit.

Because the taxpayers had already paid the disallowed amount, IDOR said they would receive a refund of the $313 plus the interest and penalties paid. For later returns, the Department instructed them to attach a copy of the GIL and their statement regarding the approved Form 4029 exemption to avoid another Social Security number verification rejection.

What this means for you

When a dependent has no Social Security number because of an approved religious exemption, include documentation establishing the exemption with the Illinois return rather than leaving the verification issue unexplained.

Common questions

Q: Did the missing Social Security numbers automatically defeat the credit?
A: No. IDOR allowed the credit after verifying the approved religious exemption information.

Q: What did IDOR tell the parents to attach in future years?
A: A copy of this GIL and their statement regarding the approved federal Form 4029 exemption certificate.

Citations and references

  • IRS Form 4029

Subject

Credits – Other Rulings

Source

Original ruling text

IT 10-0029-GIL 12/07/2010 CREDITS – OTHER RULINGS
General Information Letter: Taxpayers whose dependent children have no Social
Security numbers because of religious exemption are entitled to the education expense
credit for qualifying expenses incurred for the children.
December 7, 2010
Dear:
This is in response to your letter dated October 4, 2010 in which you state the following:
We received the return correction notice which is not allowing our education expense credit for
our children due to not furnishing our children’s social security numbers.
We are members of the CHURCH/COMMUNITY and have filed Form 4029 exemption from
social security with the IRS. We do not have social security numbers for our children due to
religious beliefs. We are allowed to claim our children as dependents on our federal return.
We ask that you allow us this credit under the same circumstances.
Thank you for providing copies of your federal return along with a statement regarding the approved
Form 4029 exemption on file with the IRS. We have verified the information you provided and
corrected your return showing an Education Expense Credit in the amount of $313. Because you
have paid this amount, you will receive a refund shortly for the above stated amount plus the interest
and penalties you paid.
To avoid future rejections of your Illinois education expense credits due to the social security number
verification process, please attach a copy of this letter along with your statement regarding the
approved federal Form 4029 exemption certificate to your Illinois returns.
This is a general information letter which does not constitute a statement of policy that either applies,
interprets or prescribes tax law. It is not binding on the Department. Should you have additional
questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Sincerely,

Heidi Scott
Staff Attorney -- Income Tax

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