Coronavirus Updates
The IRS has established a special section focused on steps to help taxpayers, businesses and other affected by the coronavirus on IRS.gov.
This toolkit is for valued partners of the IRS: social organizations, colleges, universities, trade and technical schools, tribal and local government, tax return preparers and more. It brings you tools and resources for certain credits other than the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) -- that is, the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) and the refundable part of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). We also provide resources for the non-refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC), Credit for Other Dependents (ODC), Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) and the non-refundable part of the AOTC.
You can help ensure eligible individuals receive the credits they deserve by keeping informed and using the latest tools for marketing, education and tax return preparation.
We welcome your comments and suggestions about how we can better meet your needs and improve this site.
What Can We Help You Find?
Find the latest news for refundable credits on our What's Hot page.
Find new AOTC and CTC key communication messages (available in both English and Spanish).
Tax-Free CARES Grant for Higher Education under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)
There’s good news if you received an emergency financial aid grant from your school because you were financially impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The grant is tax-free to you! Do not include it in income on your 2020 tax return. Since the grant is tax-free, grant funds you use to pay for educational expenses cannot be used to claim the American opportunity tax credit, lifetime learning credit or the tuition and fees deduction on your tax return.
For more information on this topic, please see FAQs: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and Emergency Financial Aid Grants under the CARES Act or Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education PDF.
Life Events and Tax Benefits for Education
Has a life event caused a disruption in your post-secondary education pursuits? Are you taking more of your courses on-line instead of in-person? Are you delaying your educational goals?
Don’t forget to consider claiming the American opportunity tax credit (AOTC) even when life events happen and when you restart your education. Tax credits for education such as the AOTC can still help you pay qualified education expenses for an eligible student even if there’s a pause in educational goals, or courses were taken on-line. AOTC may reduce your tax up to $2,500 per eligible student and up to $1,000 may be refunded to you even if you’re not required to file a tax return.
A student can only be claimed for AOTC for four tax years. However, the years don’t have to be consecutive and courses can be taken on-line.
To be eligible for AOTC, the student must:
- Be pursuing a degree or other recognized education credential
- Be enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period* beginning in the tax year
- Not have finished the first four years of higher education at the beginning of the tax year
- Not have claimed the AOTC or the former Hope credit for more than four tax years
- Not have a felony drug conviction at the end of the tax year
*Academic Period can be semesters, trimesters, quarters or any other period of study such as a summer school session. The schools determine the academic periods. For schools that use clock or credit hours and do not have academic terms, the payment period may be treated as an academic period.
If you don’t qualify for AOTC, there are other education benefits to consider such as the Lifetime Learning Credit and the Tuition and Fees Deduction. See Publication 970 ,Tax Benefits for Education PDF, for more information on these and other education tax benefits.
Find AOTC educational videos:
- What Information Do You Need to Claim an Education Credit? Preparers and individuals will benefit from the information.
- What you need to prepare a tax return claiming tax benefits for education. Preparers and individuals will benefit from this information.
See the criteria for AOTC and LLC side by side on our Compare Education Credits chart.
Whether you are involved in education, interact with students or parents of students or are a tax return preparer, find out what you need to know about AOTC and LLC.
To find out if your client qualifies for AOTC, see our Education Credits page.
Find out how to avoid common AOTC errors.
Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit and Credit for Other Dependents
Whether you are a social or civic organization, a government office or agency, a county or municipal agency or a tax return preparer, find out what you need to know about CTC, ACTC and ODC.
Qualifying Child and Child-Related Tax Benefits
Need a quick definition of qualifying child? See our Understanding Who is a Qualifying Child Page.
See all the child-related tax benefits at a glance on our Child-Related Tax Benefits Comparison chart.
What other resources do we have for you?
Check out our Earned Income Tax Credit and Other Refundable Credits page.