--- title: Let College Tuition Cut Your Tax Bill description: College costs can cut what you owe the IRS. authors: - name: Ellen Stark url: https://money.com/author/ellen-stark/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 8 covers: - Identity Theft - Lifestyle - Retirement - Taxes social: - https://x.com/ellenstark - https://plus.google.com/101613523174784806847 former_staff: true published: '2016-04-04T19:57:17.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T10:27:14.000Z' section: Education tags: - College - College Students - federal loans - Money - Saving - Savings - skills - Student Loans - Students - Taxes - video word_count: 234 canonical: https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![college.00_01_11_15.Still001](https://img.money.com/2016/03/college-00_01_11_15-still001.jpg) The tax code offers [several tax breaks](https://money.com/collection-post/best-tax-breaks-for-college-students-and-parents/) that can cut tax bills for parents and students. They include the [American Opportunity Tax Credit](https://www.irs.gov/uac/American-Opportunity-Tax-Credit), the [Lifetime Learning Credit](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch03.html), and the tuition and fees deduction. All these perks have income cut-offs, and you can’t claim more than one tax break per student per year. So keep in mind that a credit, which reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar, is more valuable than a deduction, which simply cuts how much of your income that’s taxed. The American Opportunity Credit, which can be worth as much as $2,500, is the most lucrative education tax break. It should be your first choice But if the student qualifies for need-based financial aid, give the tuition deduction a second look. Because it lowers your adjusted gross income, it might help you score more aid next fall. **Read Next: [The Best Tax Breaks for College Students and Parents](https://money.com/collection-post/best-tax-breaks-for-college-students-and-parents/)** Even adults who have long since left college can save. If you took a class that gave you new job skills in 2015, you may qualify for the lifetime learning credit, which is worth up to $2,000. And if you’re paying off student loans already, there’s one more tax break to grab: the student loan interest deduction. Depending on your income, you may be able to write off as much as $2,500 in interest this year, even if you take the standard deduction. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Education", "item": "https://money.com/education/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paying for College", "item": "https://money.com/paying-for-college/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Let College Tuition Cut Your Tax Bill" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/", "name": "Let College Tuition Cut Your Tax Bill", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-04-04T19:57:17.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-16T10:27:14.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Let College Tuition Cut Your Tax Bill", "articleSection": "Education", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/03/college-00_01_11_15-still001.jpg", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "caption": "college.00_01_11_15.Still001" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Stark", "url": "https://money.com/author/ellen-stark/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/ellen-stark/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/15-05-21_bio_author_stark.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1", "email": "ellen_stark@moneymail.com", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/ellenstark", "https://plus.google.com/101613523174784806847" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2016-04-04T19:57:17.000Z", "description": "College costs can cut what you owe the IRS.", "abstract": "College costs can cut what you owe the IRS.", "@id": "https://money.com/college-tuition-cut-tax-bill-lower-taxes/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-16T10:27:14.000Z", "wordCount": 234, "keywords": [ "College", "College Students", "federal loans", "Money", "Saving", "Savings", "skills", "Student Loans", "Students", "Taxes", "video" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Student financial aid in the United States", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_financial_aid_in_the_United_States" ] } ] } ] } ```