The American Opportunity Tax Credit is a partially refundable tax credit first detailed in Section 1004 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The act specifies: 1. * Provisions were originally specific to tax years 2009 and 2010, later extended, and finally made permanent by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, for the first 4 years of post-secondary education. 2. * Increases the Hope credit to 100 percent qualified tuition, fees and course materials paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year not to exceed $2,000, plus 25 percent of the next $2,000 in qualified tuition, fees and course materials. The total credit does not exceed $2,500. 3. * 40% of the credit is refundable. 4. * This tax credit is subject to a phase-out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in e