There are two credits for which you may be eligible to claim, which reduce the amount of income tax you may have to pay:
- The American Opportunity Credit
- The lifetime learning credit
To be eligible to claim the American Opportunity Credit or lifetime learning credit, the law requires a taxpayer (or a dependent) to have received Form 1098-T, Tuition Statement, from an eligible educational institution, whether domestic or foreign.
However, you may claim the credit if the student doesn't receive a Form 1098-T because the student's educational institution isn't required to furnish a Form 1098-T to the student under existing rules.
Who can claim the American Opportunity Credit?
Generally, you can claim the American opportunity credit if all three 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 you claim on your tax return
Who can claim the lifetime learning credit?
Generally, you can claim the lifetime learning credit if all three 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 you claim on your tax return
Can I claim more than one education credit?
For each student, you can elect for any year only one of the credits. For example, if you elect to claim the lifetime learning credit for a child on your 2020 tax return, you can't, for that same child, also claim the American opportunity credit for 2020.
If you are eligible to claim the lifetime learning credit and you are also eligible to claim the American opportunity credit for the same student in the same year, you can choose to claim either credit, but not both.
Additional Information
Publication 970 - Tax Benefits for Education