Skip to main content
December 28, 2021
Question

I am pursuing my first Bachelor's degree but have been going part-time mostly. Do I still qualify for the $2500.00 deduction?

  • December 28, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 0 views
Do I qualify for the $2500.00 credit/deduction if it has taken me longer than four years to get my schooling done...

3 replies

Employee
December 28, 2021

If otherwise qualified for the American Opportunity Credit you are eligible as long as you have not claimed it for four years. 

December 28, 2021

If you otherwise qualify for the America Opportunity Credit (AOC), taking more than four years to complete your first Bachelor's degree does not disqualify you from the $2500 credit.  The "first four years" refers to the Bachelor degree requirement- note however, that you are only able to claim the AOC for four years total, regardless of how long it takes you to get the degree.  (After that you may still qualify for the Lifelong Learning Credit.)

 

For more information, see The Lowdown on Education Tax Breaks.

Hal_Al
Employee
December 28, 2021

Q. Do I qualify for the $2500.00 credit (maximum American Opportunity Credit [AOC]) if it has taken me longer than four years to get my schooling done?

A. Yes, so long as you have not completed enough undergraduate credits to get a Bachelor's degree.

 

As others have said, the AOC may only be claimed four times on a student's education.  Those four times include any AOCs claimed by your parent's while you were their dependent.  

 

It takes $4000 of qualified expenses to get the maximum $2500 AOC.  It takes $10,000 of expenses to get the maximum $2000 Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC).  There's no limit on how many times you can claim the LLC.