Can I claim a laptop for online school as a tax credit?

Your buddy was likely referring to the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) or the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC), but there are some major limitations he didn't mention. The AOTC can give you up to $2,500 per eligible student, but only $1,000 of that is refundable (meaning you get it back even if you don't owe taxes). The LLC maxes out at $2,000 and isn't refundable at all. For a laptop to qualify, it needs to be required for your coursework - not just convenient. Your school should provide documentation stating that a computer is required for your program. Even then, you can only claim what's reasonable for educational purposes. You definitely won't get a dollar-for-dollar refund on a $5300 laptop. The IRS would likely consider that excessive for typical educational needs. A more modest laptop in the $1000-1500 range would be easier to justify. Keep good records: receipt for the laptop, documentation from your school requiring a computer, and how you use it for your coursework.

I went through something similar when I was getting my degree online. I used https://taxr.ai to help me figure out exactly what education expenses I could claim. Saved me a ton of hassle! My situation was complicated because I had GI Bill benefits covering some costs, but I still had technology requirements for my program. The AOTC rules can be really confusing about what qualifies as a necessary educational expense. I uploaded my course requirements that stated we needed a computer capable of running specific software, plus my receipts, and taxr.ai walked me through exactly what I could claim and how to document it properly. Might be worth checking out given your military status and online education situation.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after seeing it mentioned here. Uploaded my course requirements document that lists the laptop specs needed for my design program, and they confirmed my MacBook purchase would qualify as a required educational expense under the AOTC! They explained that since my program specifically requires certain hardware capabilities for the specialized software, and provided documentation of that requirement, I can include the laptop cost as part of my qualified education expenses. There are still the credit limits that others mentioned, but it was super helpful having a clear confirmation about my specific situation. The documentation guidance they provided will really help if I get questioned about the expense. Way better than the conflicting advice I was getting elsewhere!

One thing nobody's mentioned is how impossible it is to get answers directly from the IRS these days. I spent 3 hours on hold trying to verify some education credit info last year before giving up. I finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent about my education credits. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c They basically wait on hold with the IRS for you, then call you when an agent comes on the line. Saved me hours of frustration when I had questions about claiming my laptop for school that weren't clearly answered online.

Just wanted to update from my skeptical comment earlier. I decided to try that Claimyr service because I was desperate to resolve an issue with my education credits after getting my transcript from my online program. I'm honestly shocked it actually worked. They called me back in about 40 minutes (after the website estimated a 2+ hour wait), and I was talking to a real IRS agent. The agent confirmed exactly what I needed to know about documenting my laptop purchase for my online classes. For anyone wondering - yes, it's legit. They just wait on hold with the IRS for you. I spoke directly with the IRS agent myself, not some third party. Completely worth it to not waste half my day on hold.

Former tax preparer here. There's a lot of misinformation flying around about education credits, so let me clear some things up: 1. The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) is worth up to $2,500, with $1,000 potentially refundable. 2. The Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) is worth up to $2,000, but is NEVER refundable. 3. For a laptop to qualify, your educational program must REQUIRE a computer. 4. Military benefits matter - expenses paid with tax-free assistance (like TA) don't qualify. Your buddy likely got back money because of the AOTC, but NOT the full cost of the laptop. He either misunderstood or was exaggerating. Also, the AOTC can only be claimed for 4 tax years per student, while the LLC has no limit. This matters depending on where you are in your education.

Has anyone used TurboTax for claiming laptop expenses with education credits? I've always done my own taxes and wondering if their software makes this straightforward or if I should get professional help this year.

Just wanted to add some practical advice from someone who's been through this process. Make sure you understand the income limits for these credits too - the AOTC starts phasing out at $80k for single filers ($160k for married filing jointly) and completely phases out at $90k/$180k. Also, since you mentioned you're military, double-check how your housing allowance (BAH) and other military pay affects your adjusted gross income calculation. Some military benefits are tax-free and won't count toward those income limits, but your base pay will. One more thing - if you're using the GI Bill in addition to Tuition Assistance, that can complicate things further since GI Bill payments are generally tax-free. You can't claim credits for expenses that were paid with tax-free education benefits. Keep detailed records of everything: your laptop receipt, program requirements stating a computer is needed, documentation of which expenses were covered by military benefits versus out-of-pocket, and any correspondence with your school about technology requirements. The IRS loves documentation if they ever question your claim.