Lifetime Learning Credit Calculator 2026

How the Lifetime Learning Credit works in 2026

The Lifetime Learning Credit is worth 20% of the first $10,000 of qualified tuition and required fees, for a maximum of $2,000 per return. The cap is per return, not per student, so a household with three students in school is still capped at $2,000 from the LLC. The credit is fully nonrefundable: it can wipe out your federal tax for the year, but it will not produce a refund on its own, and any unused portion is lost.

The LLC dollar limits and MAGI thresholds in IRC section 25A(c) and (d) are statutory. They have not been indexed for inflation since the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 aligned the LLC band with the AOTC. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) left section 25A alone for 2026, so the 20% rate, the $10,000 expense cap, and the $80,000 / $160,000 phase-out floors all carry through unchanged.

Who qualifies: eligibility, MAGI phase-out, and qualified expenses

To claim the LLC, the student must be enrolled at an eligible post-secondary institution (one that participates in federal student aid under Title IV) for at least one academic period that begins in the tax year. There is no half-time enrollment requirement and no degree requirement. A single job-skill course at a community college can qualify. There is also no four-year limit and no felony drug rule (those apply to the AOTC).

Qualified expenses are tuition and fees required for enrollment. Unlike the AOTC, books, supplies, and equipment only count if the school requires them as a condition of enrollment and they are paid to the school. Room and board, transportation, insurance, and personal expenses never qualify. Subtract any tax-free scholarships, employer assistance, and the portion of 529 or Coverdell distributions used for those costs before entering qualified expenses, double-dipping is not allowed.

On the taxpayer side, MAGI sets the phase-out. Single, Head of Household, and Qualifying Surviving Spouse filers phase out between $80,000 and $90,000. Married Filing Jointly filers phase out between $160,000 and $180,000. Married Filing Separately is ineligible. Inside the band, the credit scales down by the right fraction. The taxpayer (not the dependent) claims the credit when the student is a dependent on the return.

Lifetime Learning Credit vs the American Opportunity Credit

The AOTC and LLC share the same 2026 MAGI bands but differ everywhere else. The AOTC is worth up to $2,500 per student, 40% is refundable, and it covers required books, supplies, and equipment even if they are not bought from the school. The LLC is capped at $2,000 per return, is fully nonrefundable, and limits books to those required to be paid to the school. The AOTC is restricted to the first four years of undergraduate study with at least half-time enrollment, while the LLC has no year cap and no enrollment-intensity requirement.

For most undergraduate years, the AOTC wins. The LLC takes over for graduate school, fifth-year undergrads, part-time learners, and adults taking single courses for job skills. You can claim the AOTC for one student and the LLC for another on the same return, but you cannot stack both credits on the same student. The companion AOTC calculator runs the per-student math when AOTC eligibility is on the table.

How to claim the LLC with IRS Form 8863

Gather the Form 1098-T from each eligible institution, plus receipts for any required fees not on the 1098-T. Complete Part II of Form 8863 (lines 10 through 19): enter qualified expenses, multiply by 20%, apply the MAGI phase-out, and carry the result to Schedule 3 line 3 of Form 1040. Common pitfalls include double-counting expenses already paid with 529 distributions, using a school that is not Title IV eligible, missing the $10,000 per-return cap when multiple students are on the return, and filing MFS by mistake.

The calculator above gives a 2026 estimate using the same formulas in Pub 970 chapter 3 and Form 8863. It is for planning only and is not tax or legal advice. For an end-to-end federal estimate that combines education credits with brackets, FICA, and the standard deduction, Tax47 runs the full return on your phone.