topic American opportunity or Lifetime learning credit in Education

American opportunity or Lifetime learning credit

Qui3 — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 16:53:11 GMT

I graduated with Bachelors's in June 2020 and now I am a graduate student working for my MS degree. Half the year I was an undergrad student and the other half a graduate student. Should I get an American opportunity credit or lifetime learning credit? Since I did not get my bachelor's before 2020, does this mean I can still use American opportunity credit?

Re: American opportunity or Lifetime learning credit

Bsch4477 — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 17:02:18 GMT

Since you didn’t complete your degree before 2020 and if you did not claim the AOC for 4 years you can claim it on your 2020 return.

Re: American opportunity or Lifetime learning credit

Hal_Al — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 18:09:05 GMT

If you claim the AOC, you may only count your undergrad expenses.

If you claim the LLC, you may count both school's expenses.

It's essentially your choice, so you can calculate both ways before your decide.

Remember the 4 time limit for the AOC. Most undergrads graduate in their 5th calendar year, so they (and/or their parents) have usually already claimed their 4 times.