Qualifications

• In order to take any of the following deductions or credits, the dependent must be listed on your tax return. You must be paying for more than half of his expenses and the maximum deduction you take is based on the amount that you pay, not the total expenses. The dependent must meet the qualifications that would be required for him to take the credit himself. This usually requires that the student be enrolled at least half-time in an accredited post-secondary school. Also, you cannot take more than one of the following deductions in the same year: the Hope Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit or Tuition Deduction.
  
  

Tuition and Fees Deduction

• You can deduct up to $4,000 from your adjusted gross income for tuition and fees that you pay for a dependent from your taxes. In order to qualify for this deduction, you must make less than $65,000 if you are single or filing a separate return from your spouse or less than $130,000 if you are married and file a joint return. If you are single and make between $65,000 and $80,000 or married filing jointly and make between $130,000 and $160,000, you can only deduct $2,000 instead of $4,000. The tuition and fees deduction is an above-the-line deduction.
  
  

Hope Credit

• The Hope Credit allows you to reduce the taxes you owe by writing off a percentage of the educational expenses that you pay for a student who has not already spent more than four years in post-secondary score and is pursuing an undergraduate degree. For 2009, your credit is up to 100 percent of the first $2,000 of payments and 25 percent of the next $2,000 for a maximum credit of $2,500. If you are single or filing separately, your income can be up to $80,000 and still be able to take the full credit. If your income is between $80,000 and $90,000 you can take a reduced credit. For joint returns, if your income is below $160,000 you can take the full credit. If your income is between $160,000 and $180,000, you can only take a reduced deduction.
  
  

Lifetime Learning Credit

• The Lifetime Learning Credit lets you take a credit of 20 percent on the first $10,000 of your education expenses you pay for a dependent in post-secondary school regardless of what year they are in or if they are pursuing a degree. In order to be eligible for to take a full deduction, singles and separate filers must have an income below $50,000 and joint filers must have an income below $100,000. To take a partial deduction, singles can make between $50,000 and $60,000, and joint filers can make between $100,000 and $120,000.
  
  

Student Loan Interest Deduction

• If you took out a loan to pay the educational expenses of someone who was your dependent when the loan was taken out, you are eligible to take a deduction for the interest that you pay on the loan. The income limitations and deduction maximum are adjusted for inflation. For 2009, the maximum deduction is $2,500. For singles or separate returns, you can make up to $60,000 and take the full deduction. If you make between $60,000 and $75,000 you can take a reduced deduction. For joint returns you can take the full deduction if you make $120,000 or less and a reduced deduction of you make between $120,000 and $150,000. Student loan interest is an above-the-line deduction. However, you cannot deduct interest on student loans that were taken out by a dependent that you are making payments on.