On Dec. 9, 2016 I paid my son's college tuition for classes beginning in January 2017. Can I claim the education credit on my 2016 taxes? He attended no classes in 2016.

[MaryK1 · Accepted solution]

Yes, you can claim the education expenses in the year you paid them for an academic period that starts during the tax year or the first three months of the next tax year. Academic periods can be semesters, trimesters, quarters or any other period of study such as a summer school session. Academic periods are determined by the school. For schools that use clock or credit hours and do not have academic terms, the payment period may be treated as an academic period.