oeldad
New Member

Why is the limit for lifetime learning credit the same for individuals and married couples? Or is it not?

My wife and I are both graduate students who could claim up to a $2000 credit when filing individually before getting married. It seems that now we must file a joint return in order to qualify for the credit and still the limit is $2000 for us both, whereas before it was $4000 ($2000 each). 

Am I reading the limit wrong or does the IRS significantly penalize married students?