Possibly. In order to claim any education credits or student loan interest, one of the criteria is that if you are married you would have to file a joint return. If you and your wife meet the criteria below, then yes, you can claim both an education credit and your student loan interest expense on your return as a married couple filing jointly.
In order to claim the Student Loan interest, you also must be legally obligated to pay the interest and have paid the interest. As a married couple, your MAGI must be less than $155,000 to take the full deduction and less than $185,000 to take a gradually reduced deduction.
As for education credits: The qualifications of the credits are below:
Lifetime Learning Credit
- You can take this for an unlimited number of years
- Twenty percent of expenses up to $2,000
- Non-Refundable meaning this can reduce the amount of taxes you owe, but if your tax liability is less than the LLC, your tax will be reduced to $0 and the rest of the credit is lost.
- Cannot be claimed as a dependent on any one else's return
- As a Married couple, your income must be below $160,000 for the full credit and below $180,000 for a partial credit
American Opportunity Tax Credit.
- Available for the first 4 years of college
- Max amount is $2,500 per student
- Partially refundable credit meaning if your tax liability is $0, 40% (up to $1,000) is refundable
- Be enrolled in a degree or credential seeking program
- Not have a felony drug conviction
- Be enrolled at least half time
- cannot be claimed as a dependent on anyone else's return.
- As a Married couple, your income must be below $160,000 for the full credit and below $180,000 for a partial credit
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