When to Pay College Tuition to Get the Full $2,500 Tax Credit

Unlock one of the most overlooked tax strategies for students and parents. In this video, I explain the best time to pay college tuition to maximize your American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC).

You’ll learn how tuition timing affects eligibility, how to split payments between December and January, and how to avoid common mistakes that cause families to lose thousands in credits. This strategy works for college students, graduate students, and parents who are helping pay tuition.

What you’ll learn:

• When to pay tuition to qualify for the AOTC
• How December vs. January payments impact your credits
• How to split payments to get the full $2,500 AOTC
• When the Lifetime Learning Credit is the better option
• How to plan ahead for upcoming semesters

About Brian Winrow

Brian Winrow is a tax attorney and educator with extensive experience in taxation, accounting, and business. He holds a J.D., LL.M. in Taxation, Doctor of Business Administration, MAcc, and MBA, and is licensed to practice before the U.S. Tax Court. He also maintains active professional certifications in taxation and fraud examination. Brian teaches undergraduate and graduate-level tax and accounting courses and focuses on making complex tax concepts easy to understand. He is the founder of Winrow Tax Services, where he works with individuals and businesses on a wide range of tax matters.

If you're interested in working with Brian or learning more about his tax practice, you can visit Winrow Tax Services at www. winrowtax.com.

Have Questions?

Leave them in the comments! I post regular tax education videos designed to make difficult concepts simple and accessible. If you are seeking to become a client, please direct your questions to [email protected] as opposed to leaving them in the comments.