A nonrefundable federal tax credit for qualified tuition and required fees for undergraduate, graduate, professional-degree, and eligible job-skills courses, with no limit on the number of years it may be claimed.
Eligible postsecondary student or job-skills learnerTaxpayer entitled to claim an eligible learner
Entitlement facts
Benefit type
Government benefit. A government-funded or administered benefit, service, coverage program, assistance program, or public access route. Taxonomy definition →
What it unlocks
Up to 20% of the first $10,000 of qualified expenses, for a maximum credit of $2,000 per tax return, limited by tax liability.
Who qualifies
Eligible postsecondary student or job-skills learner; Taxpayer entitled to claim an eligible learner
Requirements
The taxpayer, spouse, or dependent must take one or more qualifying courses at an eligible educational institution. Modified adjusted-gross-income limits, taxpayer and student identification numbers, Form 1098-T rules and exceptions, dependency rules, and prohibitions on claiming the same expenses for multiple education benefits apply.
How to activate
Obtain Form 1098-T and records of qualified expenses and tax-free educational assistance, complete Form 8863, and claim the credit on the federal return.
Cost basis
No-cost access. The core benefit has no required payment, purchase, deposit, paid membership, or pre-existing paid-product relationship under the captured terms.
Cost and fees
There is no fee to claim the credit, but it is nonrefundable, applies once per return rather than per student, phases out with income, and does not itself make tuition free. The same expense cannot be used for both this credit and another excluded or credited education benefit.
Geography
US, Eligible educational institutions, including some outside the United States
Personalization
Published eligibility is not described as individually targeted.
EVIDENCE / 1 SOURCE
Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.
Check the provider's final terms immediately before applying, depositing funds, spending, or changing a paid relationship.
Local federally funded community learning centers provide before-school, after-school, weekend, and summer academic enrichment, youth development, and family education, particularly for students at high-poverty and low-performing schools.
Condition
Variable by provider or eligibility
Personalized
No
002Verified
SU
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration · Government benefit
Free, confidential crisis support by call, text, or chat for people in suicidal, mental-health, or substance-use crisis and for people worried about someone else.
Condition
No-cost access
Personalized
No
003Verified
CI
City of Albuquerque Transit Department · Government benefit