Can I Claim College Fees on Taxes?
- The American Opportunity Credit allows you to take a tax credit for the first four years of your college education. You can qualify for the AOC if you pay your own higher education expenses or the college expenses of a dependent or spouse for whom you can claim an exemption. The AOC program only offers the credit for students pursuing a qualified education credential or undergraduate degree, and the student must attend school no less than half time. As of the time of publication, you can take a maximum credit of $2,500 for expenses such as school fees, tuition and textbooks, but you must meet income limits to qualify.
- You can choose to take a tuition and fee deduction if you pay for your college expenses or pay the expenses of a dependent or spouse for whom you can claim an exemption. As of the time of publication, the deduction allows you to reduce your taxable income by a maximum of $4,000. You must use form 1040 or 1040A to take a tuition and fees deduction and must meet income limits to qualify. You can only take the deduction for required college fees and tuition costs and cannot include costs related to room and board or personal expenses.
- As of the time of publication, the Lifetime Learning Credit allows you to take a maximum tax credit of $2,000 per tax return. You can take the LLC if you pay for your college expenses or pay the school expenses of a dependent or spouse whom you can claim as an exemption. The LLC program does not limit the number of years you can take the credit, but does require you to meet income limits to qualify. You can apply the credit to required costs paid to your school, including school fees, tuition and textbooks. The LLC program offers a nonrefundable credit and does not allow you to take a credit higher than your tax liability.
- If you attend college to pursue coursework required by law or your employer, or in order to improve your skills for your current job, you may qualify for a work-related tax deduction. However, you cannot take a work-related deduction if the coursework is required to help you meet minimum requirements for your job or you are attending school to gain qualifications for a new career. You can take a work-related deduction for expenses such as tuition, lab fees, textbooks, transportation costs and school supplies, but you must itemize your deductions to qualify.