American Opportunity Credit

Qualifying out of pocket educational costs are covered by the American Opportunity Credit (AOTC).
It covers the first four years of post-secondary education, including college or university attendance. For tax years 2009 and 2010, this credit changes the Hope Credit.

Eligible students can get up to $2,500.

Am I qualified?
Available to people whose adjusted AGI is under $80,000 or $160,000 for married couples filing a joint return, the maximum amount of the credit is $2,500. To qualify, you have to satisfy the following:

Work for a degree or certification
Enrolled at least part time for at least one semester
Have not finished four years of higher education
Have not used the Hope Credit or AOTC for almost four years
No drug conviction or felony

How can I get the credit?
Indicate how much was tuition or use Form 1098-T, a tuition statement from your institution. To qualify for this credit, you, your dependant, or another person must pay for higher education costs where you were enrolled.

If someone else, except you, such as your parents include you on their tax return, your filing status if married filing separately, or you or your spouse are non-residents, do not claim this benefit. Expenses paid for by another student cannot be duplicated.

What can I assert?
Given your evidence for every eligible expense, you may also assert other out of pocket costs. Related expenses are student-activity fees; course-related books, supplies, and equipment charges are included in eligible education expenses only if the fees and expenses are required to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance.

You cannot claim a credit for those sums if you pay qualified education expenditures using particular tax-free sources. The eligible education costs have to be lowered by any tax-free educational help and refund(s) you got.

Qualified education costs exclude amounts spent for insurance, medical bills (including student health fees), accommodation and board, travel, or other personal, living, or family expenses.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 6th, 2025 at 12:31 am and is filed under Credits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.