What is lifetime learning credit?

[ToddL99]

Lifetime Learning Credit -  This credit reduces your tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis for a portion of the tuition, fees and other qualifying expenses you pay for yourself, a spouse or a dependent to enroll in school.

There is no limit on the number of years you can use this credit for undergraduate, graduate and professional degree courses, including ones to improve job skills.

• Maximum credit is $2,000 per tax return.
• Can be used when you're only taking one class.
• You don't need to be working towards a degree.
• None of the credit is refundable.

Who is eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit?

[Hal_Al]

There are basically three alternatives for claiming an education credit or deduction:

The American Opportunity Credit (AOC)

The Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC)

The Tuition and Fees Deduction (TFD)

You are only allowed to claim one of these for each student. TurboTax will select the one that is (usually) best for you.

 https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/AOTC

 https://www.irs.gov/individuals/llc

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8917.pdf

[Bagelz]

Hi, I was wondering if it was worth claiming the cost of tuition? I paid for a certificate course and the school doesn't give the T- form needed, they only gave my receipts. I was wondering if it was worth it in the long run to claim it? I want to avoid making filing my taxes more complicated. Thank you for reading and responding in advance, take care of yourself!

[Hal_Al]

The LLC is 20% of your tuition, up to $10K. It is non refundable. That is, it can only be used to reduce your tax liability

The AOC is 100% of the first $2000 and 25% of the 2nd $2000.  It is 40% refundable. You must be half time or more, So,  one certificate course is unlikely to qualify for the AOC.

 To be eligible for the tuition credits or tuition & fees deduction, the course must be taken at "an eligible institution". The school should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution. In general, an eligible educational institution is an accredited college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution, including accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately-owned, profit-making) postsecondary institutions. Additionally, in order to be an eligible educational institution, the school must be eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. If they issue a 1098-T they are probably an eligible institution.

Enter your school at the link below, to see if it's on the dept. of education list.

https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/schoolSearch?locale=en_EN