Eligible for AOTC in 2024

AryaGsoar

Hi,

I am filing tax return for my son who is under 24 years of age. He checks all the eligibility for claiming AOTC (he has a 1098-T for which he attended college for more than 5 months in 2024). i will not be claiming him as dependent in 2024 year.

However - in earlier years i have claimed him as a dependent and claimed AOTC in 2020 / 2021 / 2022 / 2023 - for which i got credit only in 2020 but did not receive any credits due to income limitations.

Does this violate the 4-year rule to claim AOTC even though we did not receive any credit for claim in 2021/2022/2023 ? If it does not - i can claim AOTC on my son's tax return in 2024.

pandaexpressfan_1

I think this FAQ #16 on the IRS website answers the question better than I can-

"you are not required to claim the credit for a particular year. If your child’s college does not consider your child to have completed the first four years of college at the beginning of 2024, you can qualify to take the credit for up to four tax years"

The way i read this makes it seem appropriate to claim it if you qualify