American Opportunity Credit Eligibility for son

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
March 30, 2025
1 reply
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I am working on my tax return - MFJ - our son finished school in December with his associates degree. He took an extra semester, so this would be his 3rd year for us to claim the credit. Turbo Tax keeps saying he has claimed it 4 years. If I change the data to say he's only claimed it 1 year (instead of 2), we get the credit. What am I missing?

Best answer by Hal_Al

At the screen "Did (student) ever receive the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) or Hope Credit", you get separate boxes for the AOC & Hope credits. The total cannot be 4.

Hal_Al

Employee

You've answered something wrong. You may have to delete the student and start over.

Go through the entire education interview until you reach a screen titled "Your Education Expenses Summary". Click delete next to the student's name (you cannot change it and you cannot save your entered info). After you confirm your deletion, the next screen will allow you to add a student.

Watch out for the question "Had (student name) earned four years of college credit before 2024". The answer must be NO. Even if he physically went 4 years, if he doesn't have a BS/BA, the answer is (usually) NO.

karenfmartinezAuthor

Unfortunately, that didn't work - still says he received it for 4 years. Going back to see if I actually claimed it in 2022.

Hal_AlAnswer

Employee

At the screen "Did (student) ever receive the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) or Hope Credit", you get separate boxes for the AOC & Hope credits. The total cannot be 4.