Question

Kyle and Alyssa paid $1,000 and $4,000 in qualifying expenses for their two daughters Jane and Jill, respectively, to attend the University of California. Jane is a sophomore and Jill is a freshman. Kyle and Alyssa's AGI is $137,000 and they file a joint return. What is their allowable American opportunity tax credit after the credit phase-out based on AGI is taken into account?

Answer 1

Answer: $3,500

Explanation:

The American Opportunity Tax Credit is a credit offered by the IRS for educational expenses paid on qualified students in their first 4 years of tertiary education.

The credit offered stands at a 100% of the first $2,000 paid per student. Afterwards this drops to 25% for the next $2,000.

To be able to claim the full credit however, some income conditions must be met. The most relevant to this question is that your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) should be $80,000 or less if filing singularly or $160,000 or less if jointly signing as a married couple.

That means that Kyle and Alyssa qualified for 100% of this credit.

They get to claim $1,000 on Jane.

For Jill they get to claim the first $2,000 and then 25% of the next $2,000,

= 25% * 2,000

= $500

= 500 + 2,000

= $2,500

They get to claim $2,500 on Jill.

Total of $3,500 for both Jane and Jill.