College Credits

Description and Definition of College Credits

These credits were first available in 1998 to help pay for the cost of college education. The Hope credit is worth up to $1,500 per year per student and is available for the first two years of vocational school or college. A lifetime learning credit is worth up to $1,000 per year for additional schooling. You can claim a Hope credit for each qualifying student (including yourself, your spouse or your dependent child) for whom you pay tuition and other qualifying fees (but not the cost of books or room and board), so three children in college at the same time could earn you $4,500 of credit. Only one lifetime learning credit can be claimed each year, however, for a maximum credit of $1,000. The right to these credits disappears as adjusted gross income rises between $40,000 and $50,000 on an individual return and between $80,000 and $100,000 on a joint return.

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• College Credits in the West's Tax Law Dictionary
• College Credits in “A Dictionary of Taxation”