Claim your education credits

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Yia Thao
  • 19th Airlift Wing Judge Advocacy
LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. --  "In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," - Benjamin Franklin.

As gloomy as both of these may seem to most of us, what we can say about taxes is that we can potentially get up to a 40 percent refundable credit. In my experience, or lack thereof, death is usually an all-or-nothing situation.

These credits I speak of are the two education credits that one can potentially claim: the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit.

You may be able to claim an education credit if you, your spouse or your dependent were a student attending an eligible educational institution. An eligible educational institution is any college, university, vocational school or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. Almost all schools will fall into these categories. The educational institution should be able to tell you whether or not it's eligible.

Those wishing to claim the AOC must have been: pursuing a program leading to a degree or other education credential, enrolled at least half time for a minimum of one academic period, have no felony drug convictions, and the individual must not have already completed the first four years of postsecondary education.

The AOC can only be claimed for four tax years and can provide up to $2,500 credit per student with up to 40 percent of that credit being potentially refundable.

The LLC is available for all kinds of postsecondary education, including those courses to acquire or improve job skills. A felony drug conviction will not make the student ineligible. The LLC can also be claimed for an unlimited amount of years with a credit potential of $2,000.

Note that military members have access to H&R Block software, including 24/7 assistance by a tax consultant through www.militaryonesource.mil. This website will allow you to complete your taxes free of charge, and help establish what credits you qualify for.