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).
Child and Dependent Care Credit (CDCC)
The 2021 enhancements to the credit for child and dependent care expenses have expired.
For tax year 2022, the credit for child and dependent care expenses are nonrefundable and you may claim the credit on qualifying employment-related expenses of up to $3,000 if you had one qualifying person, or $6,000 if you had two or more qualifying persons. See Form 2441, line 8, for the 2022 phaseout schedule. If you paid 2021 expenses in 2022, see the instructions for line 9b and complete Worksheet A at the end of the instructions.
For more information see Child and Dependent Care Information.
Higher Education Emergency Grants
Emergency financial aid grants under the following are not included in your gross income.
- The CARES Act.
- The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021.
- The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Also, for purposes of the American opportunity credit and lifetime learning credit, a student does not reduce an amount of qualified tuition and related expenses by the amount of an emergency financial aid grant.
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 EducationPDF.
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. See Publication 970 ,Tax Benefits for EducationPDF, 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.