American Opportunity Credit
Taken from IRS Pub 970 Chapter 2 Overview of Education Tax Benefits for Tax Year 2009
|
Maximum credit |
Up to $2,500 credit per eligible student |
|
Limit on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) |
$180,000 if married filling jointly; $90,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) |
|
Refundable or nonrefundable |
40% of credit may be refundable; the rest is nonrefundable |
|
Number of years of postsecondary education |
Available ONLY for the first 4 years of postsecondary education |
|
Number of tax years credit available |
Available ONLY for 4 tax years per eligible student (including any year(s) Hope credit was claimed) |
|
Type of degree required |
Student must be pursuing an undergraduate degree or other recognized education credential |
|
Number of courses |
Student must be enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period that begins during the tax year |
|
Felony drug conviction |
No felony drug convictions on student’s records |
|
Qualified expenses |
Tuition and fees required for enrollment. Course-related books, supplies, and equipment do not need to be purchased from the institution in order to qualify. |
|
Payments for academic periods |
Payments made in 2009 for academic periods beginning in 2009 and in the first 3 months of 2010 |
Who Can Claim the Credit
Generally, you can claim the American opportunity credit if all four of the following requirements are met.
- You pay qualified education expenses of higher education.
- You pay the education expenses for an eligible student.
- The eligible student is either yourself, your spouse, or a dependent for whom you claim an exemption on your tax return.
- You choose not to claim the Hope credit for any student in 2009.
