br br If you are s student in college, you may qualify for American Opportunity credit on your tax return. The maximum credit, per student, is $2,500 per year for the first four years of postsecondary education. br br There's one potential downside: If you claim the credit on your tax return, your parents must forgo a dependency exemption for you, and you might not be able to take the personal exemption for yourself either. br If your parents income is to high; approximately $180,000 ( $90,000 for a singe parent ) they would not qualify to claim the credit on their tax return regardless. br If your parents income is approximately $430,000 ( $250,000 for a single parent ) they might lose the benefit of your exemption anyway, due to the exemption being fully phased out, giving more of the reason to claim the credit on your return.