Find the answers to the most common questions you ask about the Education Credits -- the American opportunity tax credit (AOTC) and the lifetime learning credit (LLC).
A1. No, but the Protecting Americans Against Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 made AOTC permanent. The AOTC helps defray the cost of higher education expenses for tuition, certain fees and course materials for four years.
To claim the AOTC or LLC, use Form 8863, Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits). Additionally, if you claim the AOTC, this law requires you to include the school’s Employer Identification Number on this form.
In addition, the Trade Preferences Extension Act 2015 requires most students to have received a Form 1098-T. To be eligible to claim the AOTC or the LLC, this law requires a taxpayer (or a dependent) to have received Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, from an eligible educational institution.
A2. Unlike the other education tax credits, the AOTC is allowed for expenses for course-related books, supplies and equipment that are not necessarily paid to the educational institution but are needed for attendance. It also differs because you can claim the credit for four tax years instead of no limit on the number of years you can claim the LLC. See Education Credits: AOTC and LLC for more information.
A3. It is a tax credit of up to $2,500 of the cost of tuition, certain required fees and course materials needed for attendance and paid during the tax year. Also, 40 percent of the credit for which you qualify that is more than the tax you owe (up to $1,000) can be refunded to you.
A4. You reduce the amount of tax you owe dollar for dollar by the amount of the AOTC for which you qualify up to the amount of tax you owe. If the amount of the AOTC is more than the tax you owe, then up to 40 percent of the credit (up to $1,000) can be refunded to you.
A5. In general, qualified tuition and related expenses for the education tax credits include tuition and required fees for the enrollment or attendance at eligible post-secondary educational institutions (including colleges, universities and trade schools). The expenses paid during the tax year must be for an academic period that begins in the same tax year or an academic period that begins in the first three months of the following tax year.
The following expenses do not qualify for the AOTC or the LLC:
A6. For the AOTC but not the LLC, qualified tuition and related expenses include amounts paid for books, supplies and equipment needed for a course of study. You do not have to buy the materials from the eligible educational institution. Add amounts paid for these materials to Form 8863 to your other adjusted qualified education expenses. The total of all qualified tuition and related expenses for calculating the AOTC cannot exceed $4,000 and as explained in Q&A 3, the maximum allowable credit is $2,500. See Qualified Education Expense for more information.
A7. It depends. The amount paid for the computer can qualify for the credit if you need the computer for attendance at the educational institution.
A8. An eligible student for the AOTC is a student who:
A9. Yes, AOTC can be claimed for this student for qualified educational expenses paid during the entire tax year, if all other requirements are met and the student:
A10. Yes, if you remain an eligible student and no one can claim you as a dependent on their tax return, the AOTC is available for qualifying expenses paid during each tax year.
A11. You calculate the AOTC based on 100 percent of the first $2,000 of qualifying expenses, plus 25 percent of the next $2,000, paid during the tax year.
A12. Yes. To claim the full credit, your MAGI, modified adjusted gross income (See Q&A 13 for MAGI definition) must be $80,000 or less ($160,000 or less for married taxpayers filing jointly). If your MAGI is over $80,000 but less than $90,000 (over $160,000 but less than $180,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly), the amount of your credit is reduced. If your MAGI is over $90,000 ($180,000 for married taxpayers filing joint), you can't claim the credit.
A13. For most filers, it is the amount of your AGI, adjusted gross income, from your tax return. If you file Form 1040 or 1040-SR, your MAGI is the AGI on line 11 of that form, modified by adding back any:
A14. To claim the AOTC or LLC, use Form 8863, Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits). Additionally, if you claim the AOTC, the law requires you to include the school’s Employer Identification Number on this form.
A15. To claim the American opportunity credit complete Form 8863 and submitting it with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Enter the nonrefundable part of the credit on Schedule 3 (Form 1040 or 1040-SR), line 3. Enter the re-fundable part of the credit on Form 1040 or 1040-SR, line 29.
To claim the lifetime learning credit complete Form 8863 and submitting it with your Form 1040 or 1040-SR. Enter the credit on Schedule 3 (Form 1040 or 1040-SR), line 3.
A16. Yes, you are not required to claim the credit for a particular year. If your child’s college does not consider your child to have completed the first four years of college at the beginning of 2023, you can qualify to take the credit for up to four tax years.
A17. You can claim AOTC, for any semester or other academic period if you take at least half the full-time course load for the first four years of college. If you take half the course load for at least one semester or other academic period of each tax year, and your college does not consider you to have completed the first four years of college as of the beginning of the tax year, you can qualify to take the AOTC for up to four tax years.
A18. Yes. The Form 1098-T is a form provided to you and the IRS by an eligible educational institution that reports, among other things, amounts paid for qualified tuition and related expenses. The form may be useful in calculating the amount of the allowable education tax credits. In general, a student must receive a Form 1098-T to claim an education credit. But an eligible educational institution is not required to provide the Form 1098-T to you in certain circumstances, for example:
A19. Yes. You can still claim the AOTC if you did not receive a Form 1098-T because the school is not required to provide you a Form 1098-T if:
Be sure to keep records that show the student was enrolled and the amount of paid qualified tuition and related expenses. You may need to send copies if the IRS contacts you regarding your claim of the credit.
A20. Yes. You can still claim an education credit if your school that closed did not provide you a Form 1098-T if:
Be sure to keep records that show the student was enrolled and the amount of paid qualified tuition and related expenses. You may need to send copies if the IRS contacts you regarding your claim of the credit.
A21. An eligible educational institution is a school offering higher education beyond high school. It is any college, university, vocational school, or other post-secondary educational institution eligible to participate in a Federal student aid program run by the U.S. Department of Education. This includes most accredited public, nonprofit and privately-owned–for-profit post-secondary institutions.
If you aren’t sure if your school is an eligible educational institution:
A22. If you receive a letter or are audited by the IRS, it can be because the IRS did not receive a Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, or the IRS needs additional information to support the amounts of qualified tuition and related expenses you reported on Form 8863.
If you did receive a Form 1098-T, review it to make sure the student’s name and Social Security number are correct. If either is not correct, contact the school and ask the school to correct the information for future 1098-T reporting. If the student should have, but did not receive the Form 1098-T, contact the school for a copy.
Please note as described above, there are exceptions in which eligible educational institutions are not required to provide a Form 1098-T. See Q&A 18 for more information about the Form 1098-T.
If you claimed expenses that were not reported on the Form 1098-T in Box 1 as amounts paid, send the IRS copies of receipts, cancelled checks or other documents as proof of payment. See your letter for further instructions for what documents to send.
If you don't have the letter, see Forms 886-H-AOC and 886-H-AOC-MAX for examples. Form 886-H-AOC is also available in Spanish.
A23. For most students present in the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa the answer is no. Generally, the time an alien individual spends studying in the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa doesn't count in determining whether he or she is a resident alien under the substantial presence test. See Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens for more information.
A24. Generally, a Nonresident Alien cannot claim an education tax credit unless:
A25. You are legally responsible for what’s on your tax return, even if someone else prepares it. The IRS urges you to choose a tax preparer wisely. For more information, read IRS’s How to Choose a Tax Return Preparer.