If I didn't realize I had claimed the American Opportunity Credit the year before, and filed this as my first year, will this cause an issue with my refund?

[squirrelymonki]

I am worried this is going to delay my receiving my refund and/or get me in hot water. I did some research, and it was suggested the IRS usually catches little errors like this themselves and remedy it - plus, I still qualify for the credit since it's only my second year. Am I just panicking over nothing? I really don't want to have to amend my whole return through mail for this. 

[PaulaM · Accepted solution]

You can wait and see if the IRS corrects it when they process. If you receive a letter, just explain that you have taken it for 1 year prior and still qualify to take the credit for year 2.

If they don't correct the number of years, then for next year be sure to update to reflect that you have taken it for 2 years prior.