I claimed the American Opportunity Credit for 3 yrs of undergrad & want to claim for LY's taxes, but TTax isn't giving me that option. I was a graduate student last year.

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
February 15, 2025
3 replies
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TTax says I have already completed four years of college but I did not use four years of the AOC, only three. Please advise. Thank you!

Best answer by Hal_Al

Once you've completed four years of college, you are no longer eligible for the AOC, even if you didn't claim it the whole four times while you were an undergrad.

So, generally grad students cannot claim the AOC, because they have completed four years of college. There is an exception. If you completed your undergrad degree early in 2024, then started grad school, you can claim the AOC in 2024 and even use the grad school tuition to calculate it. This is because you had not completed four years of post secondary education prior to 1-1-24.

xmasbaby0

Employee

Sorry---you cannot get the AOTC for graduate school. You can only get that credit for your undergraduate years. For graduate school you can try getting the Lifetime Learning Credit. The LLC is NON-refundable---so it can reduce your tax owed. If you have no tax liability the credit does not do anything.

LIFETIME LEARNING CREDIT

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/expenses-qualify-lifetime-learning-credit/L7cpyQLrJ_US_en_US?uid=m6eg46im

https://ttlc.intuit.com/community/credits-and-deductions/help/what-expenses-qualify-for-the-lifetime-learning-credit/00/26844

AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/tax-credits-deductions/eligible-take-american-opportunity-tax-credit/L8ZQFKvLe_US_en_US?uid=m6efibfz

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Hal_AlAnswer

Employee

Once you've completed four years of college, you are no longer eligible for the AOC, even if you didn't claim it the whole four times while you were an undergrad.

Uther

Unfortunately, there are two qualiications for this credit that mention "four years" and you must meet both.
1. You can only use the credit in four tax years. It sounds like you meet this one.
2. You can only use the credit for the first four years of college studies. As a grad student, you DO NOT meet this requirement.
Try the Lifetime Learning Credit. It's not as generous, but it can help.