The best way to find out is to look at your
prior years' tax returns. Form
1040, line 50 (Form 1040A, line 33) shows your Education Credits. Please
go back to the last 4 years of your tax returns (if you've been at school
during that time) and see if you claimed any credits. Please note that
the exact line number may vary year to year... just look for the line
titled Education Credits. You
may also look at Form 8863 which shows the credit calculations.
Notes:
- Lifetime
Learning Credit does not require you to know how many times you have claimed
education credits... you may want to look into this credit as an
alternative if you can't claim the AOTC credit.
- If you can't
access your returns, you may have to order transcripts for the IRS.
If your parents claimed you while you were at school, the credit is
listed on their tax return: https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/request-a-transcript-or-copy-of-a-prior-year-tax-return
