Attending college can be costly, but two tax credits can help defray education expenses.

The American opportunity credit and the lifetime learning credit, as the names suggest, are credits rather than deductions, so they take a bigger bite out of your tax bill.

A deduction reduces your taxable income, which can reduce your final tax bill. A credit, however, is subtracted directly from the final tax you owe.


How much is the American opportunity credit worth?

The American opportunity credit is worth $2,500. Up to 40 percent of the credit is refundable, meaning you could get up to $1,000 back as a refund even if you don’t owe any taxes.

You can earn up to $80,000 if you’re a single filer — twice that if married filing jointly — and still claim the full American opportunity credit. A reduced credit amount is available for single filers who earn up to $90,000 and joint filers making up to $180,000.

2016 American opportunity credit income limits
Tax status Full credit Reduced credit
Single filer $80,000 $80,000 – $90,000
Married couple filing jointly $160,000 $160,000 – $180,000

However, the credit only applies to expenses incurred during the first four years of college.


How much is the lifetime learning credit worth?

If you meet IRS guidelines, you can count $10,000 of your education expenses. If you have a child also going to college and that child has eligible expenses, you can count those toward the $10,000 total, too, since the credit can be applied to all qualified education expenses in a taxpayer’s family.

These costs, however, don’t translate directly to your tax break. Rather, you get to claim up to 20 percent of your eligible lifetime learning expenses, which could net you a maximum $2,000 credit.

The lifetime learning credit is for people whose education costs are beyond four undergraduate years of college. It can be used for undergraduate, graduate and professional degree courses, as well as qualifying courses you take to improve your job skills.

You can claim the lifetime learning credit in full for the 2016 tax year if your modified adjusted gross income is less than $55,000 and you are a single filer or if it is $111,000 and you file a joint return with your spouse. The credit amount will be reduced if you make between $55,000 and $65,000 as a single taxpayer or between $111,000 and $131,000 as a married couple filing jointly. If you make more than the top income amount for your filing status, you can’t claim the credit.

2016 lifetime learning credit income limits
Tax status Full credit Reduced credit
Single filer $55,000 $55,000 – $65,000
Married couple filing jointly $111,000 $111,000 – $131,000

How to qualify for the credits

To qualify for the credits, you must pay postsecondary tuition and fees for yourself, your spouse or your dependent. The credit may be claimed by the parent or the student, but not by both. If the student was claimed as a dependent, he or she cannot file for the credit.

You also cannot claim credits for a student named as a dependent on your tax return if you already used the tuition and fees deduction for that same student. But you can claim the credits even if you received a distribution from a Coverdell Education Savings Account or a qualified tuition program. Just make sure you don’t use Coverdell or tuition account money to pay for the expenses you use to claim an education credit.

If a student meets the requirements for the American opportunity credit and the lifetime learning credit, you must pick which to claim. You cannot take both for the same student in the same year.

However, if you have multiple kids in college, you can choose to take the American opportunity credit and the lifetime learning credit on a per-student, per-year basis. This means that, for example, you can claim the American opportunity credit for your daughter and the lifetime learning credit for your son on the same tax return.