English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

I completed 2 years of college at a community college, earned an associates diploma and never claimed the tax credit. Now, I am enrolled at another college in a one year associates program and have transfered some of my credits from the other college to be used towards my degree. By, the my college's standards, I am a sophomore. Can I claim the Hope credit or should I go for the lifetime learning credit. What is the difference?

2007-01-29 07:37:32 · 3 answers · asked by Mike M 2 in Business & Finance Taxes United States

3 answers

Since you had already attended two or more years beyond high school you no longer qualify for the cope credit. Use the lifetime learning credit instead.

2007-01-29 07:56:30 · answer #1 · answered by hdsok 2 · 0 0

HOPE CREDIT

Hope Credit allows taxpayers to claim a credit of up to $1,650 ($3,300 for GOZ students) based on qualified tuition and related expenses paid for each eligible student. To be eligible for the credit, the student must be:

Enrolled in a program that leads to a degree, certificate or other recognized educational credential


Taking at least one-half of the normal full-time workload for his or her course of study for at least one academic period beginning during the calendar year


Enrolled as a freshman or sophomore (in other words, has not completed the first two years of postsecondary education).


Free of any felony conviction for possessing or distributing a controlled substance.

Taxpayers may claim a Lifetime Learning Credit of up to $2,000 ($4,000 for GOZ students) based on qualified tuition and related expenses paid for all eligible students enrolled in eligible educational institutions.

LIFETIME LEARNING CREDIT

The Lifetime Learning Credit is based on the total qualified education expenses paid by the taxpayer and not on the number of eligible students. Education expenses are qualified for the Lifetime Learning Credit if they are for:

Courses taken as part of a postsecondary degree program, or

Courses that are not part of a postsecondary degree program, but are taken to improve or acquire job skills

DIFFERENCE

The Lifetime Learning Credit is different from the Hope Credit in the following ways:

It is allowed for one or more courses

Nondegree courses taken to improve job skills are eligible

Expenses related to noncredit courses are allowed

No limit to number of years credit can be claimed

Amount taxpayer can claim does not change based on number of students taxpayer pays for.

2007-01-29 15:51:15 · answer #2 · answered by sweetnsexy_38 2 · 1 0

Buy a $20 Taxcut or Turbotax from walmart. You will get your answer using this software.

2007-01-29 15:40:58 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

fedest.com, questions and answers