Lifetime Learning Tax Credit Overview
What Is the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit?
The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit is an education tax credit that can be applied
to your annual income tax filing. Like other tax credits, the Lifetime Learning
Tax Credit is subtracted from your annual income tax, reducing the amount of money
you owe. Or, to put it in more appealing terms, it increases the amount of money
you get back on your tax return!
The credit amount is equal to 20% of your first $10,000 in education expenses each
year. If you had $5,000 in qualified education expenses, your credit amount would
be $1,000. This tax credit can be applied to either the parents/guardians' tax filing
or the student's tax filing, but not both.
Lifetime Learning Tax Credit Eligibility
You are LIKELY to be eligible for the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit if you answer
"yes" to these questions:
- Are you enrolled in a college or professional-development course?
- Is your income, or your parents' income if you are a dependent, less than $60,000
if filing singly or less than $120,000 if filing jointly?
To claim this credit, you will need to fill out IRS Form 8863 using the 1098-T statement
sent by your college. Colleges must send you your 1098-T statement by January 31.
Your Lifetime Learning Tax Credit amount may not be greater than the total amount
of income tax you owe. In addition, your family cannot receive more than $2,000
in Lifetime Learning Tax Credits per year, even if you have multiple students in
the family.