TaxAct® will determine which education benefit is most advantageous for you based on the data entered on your return (such as income, filing status, amount of qualified expenses, etc.). See Education Credits & Deductions - Enter, Review, Modify for instructions on how to enter or modify your education information in TaxAct, or to compare the education benefits in your return.
Generally, you can claim the Lifetime Learning Credit if:
You may not claim both the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit for the same student in the same tax year. For more information on the differences between these credits, see Form 8863 - Education Credits.
To be eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit, the student must have taken courses that are part of a degree program or part of a non-degree program taken to acquire or improve job skills.
Qualified education expenses include tuition and certain related expenses required for enrollment in a course at an eligible educational institution. Student-activity fees and expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment are included in qualified education expenses only if the fees and expenses must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance.
Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.