07/21/2026
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀?
You can use the Lifetime Learning Credit to lower your federal tax bill even if you aren't enrolled in a full degree program. This credit offsets 20% of your first $10,000 in qualified tuition and enrollment fees.
To max out the $2,000 cap, you can group your expenses into a single tax year. IRS rules state you can claim tuition paid now for an academic term that starts within the first three months of the following calendar year.
If you haven't hit the $10,000 qualified expense limit by mid-December, pay your upcoming Spring semester tuition before December 31st.
Prepaying your tuition keeps you from splitting expenses across two separate years and diluting your annual credit. Just make sure your course is hosted by an eligible institution that issues Form 1098-T.
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴?