Is a student enrolled full-time in dual enrollment courses eligible for AOTC?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
February 3, 2024
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She is currently a high school senior but is also classified as a sophomore majoring in "dual enrollment (LA Early Start)" through the university. She is not earning an associate degree but does plan on pursuing her bachelor's degree through the same university. Additionally, she did have to reapply for admission to this university for the upcoming fall semester as a first-time student.

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xmasbaby0

Employee

Suggestion---- do not waste a year of the AOC on a dual enrollment situation. Save it for the much more costly years of full-time college.

**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_Al

Employee

High school students are not usually eligible for the more generous American Opportunity Credit (AOC), unless they are officially enrolled as a degree candidate. From pub 970: "Example 3. During the 2022 fall semester, Larry was a high school student who took classes on a half-time basis at College X. Larry wasn't enrolled as part of a degree program at College X because College X only admits students to a degree program if they have a high school diploma or equivalent. Because Larry wasn't enrolled in a degree program at College X during 2022, Larry wasn't an eligible student for tax year 2022." Reference: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch02.html

Even if he is eligible for the AOC, you may not want to claim it. A student (or his parents can only claim the AOC four times. If you're not getting the full credit ($2500) for these dual high school/college classes, you may want to save the AOC for later. On the other hand, if she is already a sophomore, she may not get it 4 times anyway. Graduate students are not eligible.

The ability of the parent of a high school student to claim the education credit is limited. If these courses are provided by an eligible college, this cost qualifies for the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC). The school must have policy of granting college credit for that course, already taken, if the student ever enrolls there. In other words, it is a requirement that the course be a college credit course, even if the student isn't currently a college student. It’s not that the student is post-secondary, it’s that the course is post secondary. Books are not a qualifying expense, unless included in the course fee. You must have paid tuition to the college and not the high school in order to claim the expenses on your return.

https://www.taxact.com/support/22177/2023/education-credits-high-school-student-taking-college-class...