As a full time undergrad, am I eligible for American Opp. credit if my parents don't claim it? Can I also claim this credit for past years when I didn't file taxes?

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
March 11, 2022
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My parents don't live in the US, so they don't claim me as a dependent even though they pay my tuition. I want to claim American Opportunity tax credit for 2018-2021. I did not file taxes before 2021. Is it too late to claim that credit now? Also, will turbotax deluxe allow me to claim this? It said I was eligible for LLC, but it didn't mention AOTC.

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AmyC

Employee

To claim AOTC, you must be an undergraduate on Jan 1, 2021 and mark that you had not completed your degree at that point. You may have marked something wrong to disallow the AOTC. You can amend for a refund up to 3 years after filing. So, you can file a 2018 amended return up until April 15. You want to do that one first since it is the most time sensitive. For those years, up to 40% was refundable so if you had no tax liability, the most you would get back is $4000 x 40% = $1600.

Full information in Publication 970 (2021), Tax Benefits for Education | IRS.

See How do I prepare a 2020, 2019, or 2018 tax return? Yes, Deluxe will handle the Form 8863 for Education Credits/

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