what is a qualified higher education expense qhee 
the term qualified higher education expense qhee refers to money paid by an individual for expenses like tuition books fees and supplies to attend a college university or other post secondary institution these expenses can be paid by a student spouse parent s or another party such as a friend or another relative the internal revenue service irs provides individuals with tax incentives with respect to qualified higher education expenses understanding qualified higher education expenses qhees qualified higher education expenses are any amounts paid to cover the enrollment of a student at an accredited post secondary institution expenses covered under this category include tuition books materials supplies including laptops or notebooks and any other related expenses such as student activity fees 1 these costs can be paid by cash check credit card or money from a loan 4qhees must be paid directly by the student themselves their spouse parents another relative or friend in order to qualify 4 these fees may or may not be paid directly to an eligible post secondary institution eligible schools include private public for profit and nonprofit institutions all schools send out a form 1098 t tuition statement for qhees to the student for tax purposes 5as mentioned above qhees may provide individuals with a tax break in one of three possible ways these include 6these tax breaks help reduce the financial burden of attending a college or university and are provided on expenses paid during semesters trimesters quarters or summer school during the tax year or for the first three months of the next tax year special considerationsas noted above qualified higher education expenses are defined as tuition fees books supplies and equipment needed to enroll or attend a level of education beyond high school 1 these expenses are important because they can determine whether or not you can exclude the interest off of a qualified savings bond from your taxable income expenses that do not qualify include insurance medical expenses student health fees transportation personal living expenses or fees relating to sports activities 6taxpayers may claim qhees for reimbursement under the american opportunity tax credit aotc or the lifetime learning credit llc the aotc is capped at 2 500 per student while the lifetime learning credit is limited to 2 000 per tax return 78 also note that the llc is only available to taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income magi of 80 000 or less or 160 000 or less for married couples filing jointly 9you can use form 8863 education credits to apply for both the american opportunity tax credit and the lifetime learning credit 10filers can use form 8863 education credits to apply for both credits it s important to note however that you can t take more than one type of credit for the same student and the same expenses so you can t take the aotc andthe llc for the same student in the same tax year 11