Can I claim the American Opportunity Credit with college credits from high school?

I'm trying to figure out if I can claim the American Opportunity Credit on my taxes this year and it's a bit confusing. Here's my situation: During high school, I did this dual enrollment program and racked up 68 college credits through my local community college. Some classes were online and others were taught by my high school teachers (but they had to follow the community college curriculum). After high school, I went to a 4-year university. By January 2022, I had completed 57 credits at the university, and I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in May. The IRS rules say you can only claim the American Opportunity Credit during your first four years of post-secondary education. By the beginning of 2022, I had technically completed 125 credits total (68 from high school + 57 from university). I've only claimed the American Opportunity Credit on my taxes for two previous years. Given my situation with all these early college credits from high school, am I still eligible to claim it for 2022 when I graduated?

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20 comments

Paolo Romano

•8M

The American Opportunity Credit is indeed limited to the first four years of post-secondary education, but what matters isn't the number of credits you've earned - it's how many academic years you've completed. The IRS looks at your academic years, not credit hours. Those dual enrollment credits you earned in high school typically don't count against your four years of eligibility. The clock generally starts ticking when you're enrolled in college after high school graduation as a degree-seeking student. Since you've only claimed the credit for two previous tax years and you were still working on your Bachelor's degree in 2022 (which sounds like it was your third or fourth year of college post-high school), you should still be eligible to claim the American Opportunity Credit for 2022. Just make sure you meet the other requirements: you must be pursuing a degree, enrolled at least half-time for one academic period, and meet the income limitations.

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Paolo Romano

•8M

The credit is based on academic years completed, not credit hours accumulated. So even though your daughter has a lot of credits, if she's only been enrolled as a college student (after high school) for less than 4 years, she should still qualify. The dual enrollment credits earned during high school aren't typically counted as "years of post-secondary education" for this purpose. The IRS is concerned with how many years you've been in college after high school, regardless of how many credits you brought in from high school programs.

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Oliver Schmidt

•8M

I dealt with this exact situation last year! I used https://taxr.ai to analyze my transcript and tax docs to figure out my eligibility for the American Opportunity Credit. I had tons of AP and dual enrollment credits from high school too. What I found out is that those high school credits don't count against your "four years" for the American Opportunity Credit. The four years only start counting after you graduate from high school. So even though I had like 70 credits when I started college, I was still considered a first-year student for tax purposes. The tool analyzed my transcript and confirmed I was still eligible even with all my early credits. It saved me from missing out on over $2,500 in tax credits!

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Oliver Schmidt

•8M

You just upload your transcripts and tax forms, and their system analyzes them to determine eligibility for education credits. It identifies which credits were earned during high school versus college, and gives you a clear answer about your American Opportunity Credit eligibility. The IRS looks at how many years you've been in college after high school, not your class standing. So even if your university classified you as a junior because of your credits, the IRS still considers you in your first year of post-secondary education if it's your first year after high school. That's why so many people miss out on this credit when they're actually eligible.

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Javier Torres

•8M

Just wanted to update on my situation after using taxr.ai that was mentioned here. I was super worried about claiming the American Opportunity Credit with all my dual enrollment credits from high school. My university had me classified as a junior when I started because of those credits. I uploaded my transcripts and got confirmation that I AM eligible! The system explained that the IRS counts "years of post-secondary education" beginning after high school graduation, regardless of how many college credits I earned while in high school. I ended up claiming the credit and got $2,500 back that I would have missed! The analysis showed exactly which semesters counted toward my "four years" of eligibility and which ones didn't. Such a relief to have this cleared up and get that extra money back!

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Emma Wilson

•8M

If you're still struggling to get a clear answer on your American Opportunity Credit eligibility, I'd recommend calling the IRS directly. I was in a similar situation last year with confusion about education credits. I tried calling the IRS for weeks but couldn't get through. Then I found https://claimyr.com which got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes! You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with confirmed that dual enrollment credits from high school don't count against your "four years" for the American Opportunity Credit. They said what matters is how many academic years you've been enrolled after high school graduation. Since you've only claimed the credit twice before, you should be eligible to claim it for your 2022 taxes when you graduated.

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Emma Wilson

•8M

It uses a system that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you. When an agent finally answers, you get a call connecting you directly to them. It's not a special line - it just handles the waiting part for you. You're right that IRS agents can sometimes give different answers. That's why I recommend documenting the call details - get the agent's ID number and notes about what they told you. This creates a record if there's ever a question later about why you claimed something based on their advice.

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Malik Johnson

•8M

I was totally skeptical about that Claimyr service mentioned above, but I was desperate to get an answer about my American Opportunity Credit situation with all my dual enrollment credits. I tried it as a last resort and honestly... it worked exactly as promised. After weeks of failing to get through to the IRS myself, I was connected to an agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed that my dual enrollment credits from high school don't count toward my "4 years" limit for the American Opportunity Credit. She explained that the clock starts when you begin post-secondary education after completing high school. The agent even noted this information in my file so there wouldn't be issues if I got audited. Saved me a ton of stress and about $2,500 in credits I might have missed out on! Plus I didn't waste hours on hold.

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Isabella Santos

•8M

The American Opportunity Credit is worth up to $2,500 per eligible student and is partially refundable, while the Lifetime Learning Credit is worth up to $2,000 per tax return (not per student) and is non-refundable. The Lifetime Learning Credit doesn't have the "first four years" restriction, so it's perfect for fifth-year students or graduate students. It also doesn't require half-time enrollment, so you can claim it even for just a course or two. The main downsides compared to the AOTC are the lower maximum amount and that it's not refundable, so it can only reduce taxes you owe, not generate a refund beyond that.

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