<prompt> Human: Hi all, This is a question pertaining next years return. I am taking college courses online, and I have been using my desktop which I already had beforehand. Even though I have been using my desktop for these classes, can I buy a laptop this year to do schoolwork on the go and claim it for the 2015 tax return and not be flagged?  <response>: Nobody is asking the most relevant question here, which is: do you itemize deductions? If you are taking the standard deduction anyway, dont count on the deduction for the computer to save you anything. I dont think you qualify for the computer tax credit under the American Opportunity Tax Credit, because the computer must be a condition of enrollment in an educational institution. So, this means your only option is to use a deduction on it. If youre not itemizing deductions, youll get nothing out of this. 