No. The education credits are based on what is paid in the tax year.
School years and calendar years sometimes overlap. If
the school billed in December 2016 for classes that started in January 2017
and-
if you paid for the classes in 2016, those fees are
education expenses for 2016
if you paid for the classes in 2017, those fees are
education expenses for 2017
Credits are based on what was paid in the tax year.
According to the IRS:
“If your school sent
you a 1098-T in 2016 and it showed that you were billed in 2016 for classes
that started in 2017, and you paid for those classes in 2017, you may use that
amount to apply for an education credit in 2017. You may or may not receive a
1098-T in 2017 from the school. You could not have used that amount (the fee
for the 2017 classes) towards a credit last year.
Prepaid expenses.
Qualified education expenses paid in 2017
for an academic period that begins in the first 3 months of 2018 can be used in
figuring an education credit for 2017 only. See Academic period, earlier. For example, if you pay $2,000 in
December 2017 for qualified tuition for the 2018 winter quarter that begins in
January 2018, you can use that $2,000 in figuring an education credit for 2017
only (if you meet all the other requirements).
You can't use any amount you paid in 2016 or 2018 to
figure the qualified education expenses you use to figure your 2017 education
credit(s).”
CLICK HERE for IRS Pub 970 Education Credits
