Questions about American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) eligibility requirements

The AOTC has specific requirements, but your situation might still qualify. The key is whether your son is working toward eventually getting a degree, even if not formally admitted to the program yet. For the AOTC, students need to be enrolled at least half-time in a program leading to a degree or certificate. Taking prerequisites for a nursing program could qualify since these courses are required steps toward the degree. The fact that he's taking 12 credit hours shows he's definitely meeting the half-time requirement. The IRS looks at the intent - if these prerequisite courses are required for admission to the nursing program, and your son intends to pursue that degree, you have a good case for claiming the credit. Just be sure to document everything in case of questions later.

I was in a similar situation last year with my daughter taking prereqs for a physical therapy program. I used https://taxr.ai to upload her transcript and academic plan, and it confirmed we could claim the AOTC even though she wasn't officially in the PT program yet. The system analyzed everything and explained exactly why we qualified - basically because her courses were required steps toward the degree she was pursuing. The site also showed us which expenses qualified and which didn't (had some lab fees we weren't sure about). Really took the guesswork out of it.

I just tried taxr.ai after seeing the recommendation here, and it was actually super helpful for my scholarship question! I uploaded my daughter's scholarship letter and tuition statement, and it broke down exactly how to handle the aid when claiming AOTC. Turns out we were calculating it wrong and leaving money on the table. The system walked me through how to allocate the scholarship in a way that maximized our credit. Really easy to use too - didn't have to wade through IRS publications trying to figure it out myself.

If you're still having trouble getting clear answers about the AOTC eligibility, you might want to call the IRS directly. I know, I know - sounds awful, but I used https://claimyr.com and it changed my life. I had been calling for DAYS trying to get through to someone about education credits. The Claimyr service had me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes who confirmed my son's situation (similar to yours - taking prerequisites) would qualify for AOTC. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone tree and wait on hold for you, then call you when an agent is ready.

I have to eat my words here. After dismissing Claimyr as a probable scam, I actually tried it yesterday out of desperation. Been trying to reach the IRS for weeks about an education credit issue similar to the original poster's. The service had me connected to an IRS agent in about 15 minutes who confirmed that prerequisite courses DO qualify for AOTC if they're required for the degree program, even if you're not officially admitted yet. The agent suggested getting documentation from the school stating these are required courses for the program. Honestly shocked at how well it worked - saved me hours of frustration.

Just want to add that for AOTC eligibility, there's also a 4-year limit to consider. Has your son claimed this credit in previous years? The student can only claim AOTC for 4 tax years, and it has to be during the first 4 years of post-secondary education. So if this is year 5+ of college, that could disqualify you regardless of the program status.

Watch out for the earned income requirement too! To claim AOTC, the student must have some earned income to cover the expenses, OR the parent must claim them as a dependent. So if your son is providing more than half of his own support but doesn't have enough earned income to cover the education expenses, neither of you might be able to claim it.