Who can take the American Opportunity credit? If you have a child in college, you may be eligible to claim the credit (up to $2,500) on your 2016 income tax return. If your income is too high, you won’t qualify. But your child might. There’s a potential downside: You’ll have to forgo your dependency exemption for him or her. And the child can’t take the exemption. But the exemption is also subject to a phaseout, so you might lose its benefit anyway. We can help run the numbers and provide more information about qualifying for the American Opportunity credit.
