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Confused about Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) - Accept or Reject?

My tax software is giving me an option for the Lifetime Learning Credit for my graduate classes. I paid about $8000 in tuition last year but im not sure if I should take this credit or if I even qualify. My income was around 65k. Anyone know the rules on this? Don't wanna mess up and get audited.

Amara Oluwaseyi

Tax pro here. The Lifetime Learning Credit is actually pretty straightforward. You can claim up to 20% of your first $10,000 in educational expenses, so maximum credit is $2,000. With your income at 65k, you're well under the phase-out limit ($80k for single, $160k married). If you paid that tuition for grad school, you should definitely take it! Just make sure you have your 1098-T form from your school.

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Liam McConnell

omg thank you! Do you know if books and supplies count towards the 10k?

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Amara Oluwaseyi

Yes! Required books, supplies, and equipment count as qualified expenses. Just keep your receipts 👍

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CosmicCaptain

Hey everyone! If your trying to figure out education credits, I highly recommend using taxr.ai - it analyzes your transcript and tells you exactly which credits you qualify for and how much you can claim. Its only $1 and saved me from making some expensive mistakes. Check it out: https://taxr.ai

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Giovanni Rossi

Does it work for past year returns too? I think I missed some credits last year 🤔

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CosmicCaptain

Yes! You can actually use it to look at previous years and file amendments if needed. It caught a missed AOC credit for me from 2023!

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Fatima Al-Maktoum

took the LLC last year, no problems at all with the IRS. its basically free money if you qualify lol

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Dylan Mitchell

Quick question - can you take LLC same year as American Opportunity Credit?

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Amara Oluwaseyi

Nope, gotta pick one or the other for the same student in the same tax year

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Sofia Gutierrez

ngl i tried figuring this out myself last year and totally messed it up. had to amend my return 🤡

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Dmitry Petrov

same boat fam 😭 these education credits are confusing af

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StarSurfer

idk why the irs makes everything so complicated fr fr... like just give us the money we deserve for trying to get educated 💅

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Ava Martinez

periodddd 💯

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