American Opportunity Credit calculator, 2018
This works out one number from the American Opportunity Credit figures published for 2018. Every amount it uses is below, with the document it was read from. What you enter is your own: this site has no way to check it, and the answer it produces is not a published figure.
Effective 2018-01-01Source: Publication 970 (2018), Tax Benefits for Education (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
How it is worked out
The whole of your expenses up to the first published amount, plus the published rate on the next published amount after that, never more than the published maximum - and nothing at all once your modified adjusted gross income reaches the published limit. Rounded to the nearest cent. The credit really does reduce gradually over the ten thousand dollars below that limit; this site cannot cite a rule stating that range without quoting a hypothetical, so it states the point where the credit is gone rather than the slope leading to it.
It uses Expenses credited in full, $2,000 and Further expenses credited in part, $2,000 and Rate on the further expenses, 25% and Maximum credit, $2,500, published above.
Your filing status, from the 2 this year publishes: MAGI limit, single filers ($90,000), MAGI limit, joint filers ($180,000). The calculator uses the one you pick and says which.
Figures in this colour are computed from the amounts above. They are not published figures and no document states them.
Work it out
The live calculator needs JavaScript. The table below covers common amounts and is computed the same way.
Worked out for common amounts
| Qualified education expenses for this student | MAGI limit, single filers | MAGI limit, joint filers |
|---|---|---|
| 500 | $500 | $500 |
| 2,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| 3,000 | $2,250 | $2,250 |
| 4,000 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| 10,000 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Publication 970 (2018), Tax Benefits for Education (IRS)
- Maximum credit
Maximum credit Up to $2,500 credit per eligible student
- Expenses credited in full
100% of the first $2,000 of qualified education expen- ses you paid for the eligible student
- Further expenses credited in part
25% of the next $2,000 of qualified education expen- ses you paid for that student
- Rate on the further expenses
25% of the next $2,000 of qualified education expen- ses you paid for that student
- MAGI limit, single filers
Limit on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) $180,000 if married filing jointly; $90,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)
- MAGI limit, joint filers
Limit on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) $180,000 if married filing jointly; $90,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)
Every 2018 American Opportunity Credit figure · American Opportunity Credit in every year · Every calculator on this site
The same calculator for another year: 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016