American Opportunity Tax Credit

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by ewillmon, May 22, 2009.

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  1. ewillmon

    ewillmon New Member

    I was looking at the thread on Andrew Jackson University and the American Opportunity Tax Credit. I am considering enrolling in an AJU Masters degree program but from my reading of the specifics, it looks like this Tax Credit only applies to undergraduate studies. Am I reading this correctly?

    Even if it doesn't I am still considering enrolling with the sponsored tuition. I just thought it would be too good to pass up if I could recoup some of those expenses.

    Thanks for any feedback.
     
  2. mattbrent

    mattbrent Well-Known Member

    There's also the lifelong learning credit, which you get for taking courses to improve job skills or something similiar to that. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but I've taken it every year. It works out to be something like 20% of your tuition costs up to a max of $2000.

    -Matt
     
  3. jaer57

    jaer57 New Member

    I was just doing some light reading on the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and it looks like it enhances the Hope tax credit. The Hope tax credit originally was only good for the first 2 years of post-secondary education, and it was topped out at $1,800 per year. You could claim 100% of tuition, books, and fees up to $1,200, and then 50% of those costs up to the $1,800 limit.

    The American Opportunity Tax Credit increases the Hope tax credit to the first 4 years of post-secondary education, and it now tops out at $2,500 per year. Also, you can now claim 100% of books, tuition, and fees up to $2,000, and 25% of those costs for the last $500.

    You probably don't qualify for this credit since you are attending a graduate program, and as Matt said, you should look at the Lifetime Learning tax credit. He is exactly right with the numbers; you can claim up to 20% of your tuition, books, and fees cost up to $10,000, which comes out to be $2,000. This wasn't changed in the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

    Good luck!
     
  4. ewillmon

    ewillmon New Member

    That's what I was afraid of...

    Thanks for the responses.

    I definitely like the 100% reimbursement rather than the 20%!!! With the sponsored tuition at AJU, taking two classes will cost around $400-$500 per semester plus books. So 20% of each semester would be about $100.00. Still not a bad deal.

    I guess my next step will be to actually enroll and see what happens. I believe AJU has a summer session starting in June.

    Thanks.
     

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