If you are eligible for the American Opportunity credit:
You can include the cost of a computer or tablet as part of your educational costs, if it is required for your program of study. However, since the AOTC maximum benefit occurs when you pay $4000 or more, adding the computing device may not increase your credit if you already pay more than $4000 of qualified costs.
If you are claiming the Lifetime Learning Credit:
You can include the cost of a computing device in your qualified expenses if it is required for your program of study AND you buy the computing device from your school. The LLC maximum credit occurs when you have $10,000 of qualified expenses, so if your expenses are less than that, adding a computing device will probably increase your credit.
