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learning credit of up to $2,000 for qualified education ex- penses paid for all eligible students. There is no limit on the number of years the lifetime learning credit can be claimed for each student. A tax credit reduces the amount of income tax you may have to pay. Unlike a deduction, which reduces the amount of income subject to tax, a credit directly reduces the tax itself. The lifetime learning credit is a nonrefunda- ble credit. This means that it can reduce your tax to zero, but if the credit is more than your tax, the excess won't be refunded to you. Your allowable lifetime learning credit may be limited by the amount of your income and the amount of your tax. Can you claim more than one education credit this year? For each student, you can elect for any year only one of the credits. For example, if you elect to claim the lifetime learning credit for a child on your 2022 tax return, you can't, for that same child, also claim the American op- portunity credit for 2022. If you are eligible to claim the lifetime learning credit and you are also eligible to claim the American opportu- nity credit for the same student in the same year, you can choose to claim either credit, but not both. If you claim the American opportunity credit for any student, you can choose between using that student's adjusted qualified education expenses for the American opportunity credit or the lifetime learning credit. If you have the choice, the American opportunity credit will always be greater than the lifetime learning credit. If you pay qualified education expenses for more than one student in the same year, you can choose to claim certain credits on a per-student, per-year basis. This means that, for example, you can claim the American op- portunity credit for one student and the lifetime learning credit for another student in the same year. Differences between the American opportunity and lifetime learning credits. There are several differences between these two credits. For example, you can claim the American opportunity credit for the same student for no more than 4 tax years. However, there is no limit on the number of years for which you can claim a lifetime learn- ing credit based on the same student's expenses. The dif- ferences between these credits are shown in the Appen- dix near the end of this publication. Overview of the lifetime learning credit for 2022. See Table 3-1 for the basics of the credit. The details are dis- cussed in this chapter. Can You Claim the Credit? The following rules will help you determine if you are eligi- ble to claim the lifetime learning credit on your tax return. TIP Who Can Claim the Credit? Generally, you can claim the lifetime learning credit if all three of the following requirements are met. • You pay qualified education expenses of higher edu- cation. • You pay the education expenses for an eligible stu- dent. • The eligible student is either yourself, your spouse, or a dependent you claim on your tax return. Overview of the Lifetime Learning Credit for 2022 Maximum credit Up to $2,000 credit per return Limit on modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) $180,000 if married filling jointly; $90,000 if single, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse Refundable or nonrefundable Nonrefundable—credit limited to the amount of tax you must pay on your taxable income Number of years of postsecondary education Available for all years of postsecondary education and for courses to acquire or improve job skills Number of tax years credit available Available for an unlimited number of tax years Type of program required Student doesn't need to be pursuing a program leading to a degree or other recognized education credential Number of courses Available for one or more courses Felony drug conviction Felony drug convictions don't make the student ineligible Qualified expenses Tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance (including amounts required to be paid to the institution for course-related books, supplies, and equipment) Payments for academic periods Payments made in 2022 for academic periods beginning in 2022 or beginning in the first 3 months of 2023 Note. Qualified education expenses paid by a depend- ent you claim on your tax return, or by a third party for that dependent, are considered paid by you. “Qualified education expenses” are defined later under Qualified Education Expenses. “Eligible students” are de- fined later under Who Is an Eligible Student. A dependent you claim on your tax return is defined later under Who Can Claim a Dependent's Expenses. You may find Figure 3-1 helpful in determining if you can claim a lifetime learning credit on your tax return. Table 3-1. Chapter 3 Lifetime Learning Credit Page 23