"Hope Credit" refers to the credit that existed prior to the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Starting with tax year 2009, the Hope credit was supplanted by the more generous American Opportunity Tax Credit. If your student didn't receive the Hope Credit, then there should be no entry showing it was received for 2 years.
Check your prior year returns to confirm how many years the AOTC has been claimed. If you started claiming the credit for the year in which the student started in the fall, and there was any interruption in full-time study, it's possible for part of the third year of study to be in the fifth calendar year and for the credit to have been claimed in four prior years.
An eligible student for the AOTC is a student who:
- Was enrolled at least half-time in a program leading toward a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential for at least one academic period during the tax year,
- Has not completed the first four years of post-secondary (education after high school) at the beginning of the tax year,
- Has not claimed (or someone else has not claimed) the AOTC for the student for more than four years, and
- Was not convicted of a federal or state felony drug offense at the end of the tax year.
If you received distributions from a 529 plan, see this thread for a discussion and explanation of how this could have affected your AOC.
For tax year 2022, the credit begins to phase out for:
- Single taxpayers who have adjusted gross income between $80,000 and $90,000.
- Joint tax filers when adjusted gross income is between $160,000 and $180,000.
- The credit is unavailable to taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds the $90,000 and $180,000 thresholds.
You can also preview your return before filing to find out how your taxes were calculated. See here for details
See here and here for more information from the IRS on this topic.
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