Non-Eligible Credits (continued)

Education Credits

Taxpayers filing Form 1040-NR are not eligible to claim education credits, including the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, even if they have qualifying education expenses.

Exception:

If a nonresident alien is married to a U.S. citizen or resident and makes a valid election to be treated as a U.S. resident for the entire year, they would file Form 1040 (not 1040-NR) and may be eligible to claim these credits if all requirements are met.

Nonresident aliens generally cannot choose to be treated as U.S. residents just to claim education credits.

The only exception is if they are married to a U.S. citizen or resident and make a valid election to file a joint return on Form 1040. In that case, they may be eligible to claim education credits if all requirements are met.