Is it best to wait and use The American Opportunity Credit for when my daughter is a full time collage student to get more benefit

[mmproctor0102]

Daughter started community collage this year as a part-time student  she is still in high school too. Turbo tax is telling me we will get                 better break off hte American Opportunity credit. With that having a 4 time use only should I save that for    when we are a full time student so we can take more advantage of tax break

[DMarkM1]

For the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) typically you are correct.  However, if you paid out of pocket undergraduate education expenses and received a form 1098, the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) may be available to use this year.  

While AOTC requires at least 1/2 time enrollment and can only be used for four years, the LLC does not have those limitations.  Click here to see more information on the LLC and here for the AOTC.  Here is a comparison chart. 

TurboTax will guide you through the entries and show you the options in the "Education" topic under the "Deductions and Credits" section.

[Hal_Al]

Probably.  The maximum  American Opportunity Credit (AOC) is $2500. If you're not getting something close to that, it's better to wait. But, keep in mind, that in addition to the 4 time rule there is a completion of 4 years of education rule. If she graduates before using all 4 times, the others are loss (the AOC can be claimed in the year of graduation). 

High school students are not usually eligible for the American Opportunity Credit, unless they are officially enrolled as a degree candidate.  From pub 970: "Example 3. During the 2015 fall semester, Larry was a high school student who took classes on a half-time basis at College X. Larry wasn't enrolled as part of a degree program at College X because College X only admits students to a degree program if they have a high school diploma or equivalent. Because Larry wasn't enrolled in a degree program at College X during 2015, Larry wasn't an eligible student for tax year 2015."  Reference: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch02.html

The ability of the parent of a high school student to claim the credit or deduction is limited.  If these courses are provided by an eligible college, this cost qualifies for the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC). The school must have policy of granting college credit for that course, already taken, if the student ever enrolls there. In other words, it is a requirement that the course be a college credit course, even if the student isn't currently a college student. It’s not that  the student is post secondary, it’s that the course is post secondary. Books are not  a qualifying expense, unless included in the course fee.