Significantly Reduce or Zero Out Course Material Costs with the American Opportunity Tax Credit

College shops assist nationwide #taxbreaks4students marketing campaign to encourage college students and households to see in the event that they qualify for academic tax breaks and save receipts from eligible course materials purchases.

OBERLIN, OH (March 19, 2024) – As a part of the National Association of College Stores (NACS) ongoing assist for the #TaxBreaks4Students marketing campaign, NACS reminds college students and households to seek out out in the event that they qualify for academic tax breaks resembling the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC).

While books and provides prices are at a 23 yr low, for college students who nonetheless have out-of-pocket prices for required course supplies and tuition and costs, the AOTC can considerably scale back or remove out-of-pocket prices in fact supplies.

College shops throughout the nation are working to boost consciousness of the worth of the tax credit for college students and households and the significance of saving receipts for certified course materials expenditures to appropriately declare tax credit and retain such data for the IRS.

“Millions of scholars and their households who’re struggling to pay for faculty might not notice that they’re eligible to benefit from schooling tax advantages whether or not they obtain monetary support or not,” stated Richard Hershman, NACS’ vice chairman of presidency relations. “The AOTC supplies as much as $2,500 a yr of the out-of-pocket value of tuition and certified schooling bills together with books, provides, and tools wanted for a course of research, paid throughout the taxable yr for the first 4 years of faculty. Forty % of the credit score is refundable, with the most refundable quantity of $1,000 permitting taxpayers with zero tax legal responsibility to obtain a refund.”

The credit score can considerably offset or remove what was spent on required course supplies, provides, and tools for the common scholar of their first 4 years of faculty. These are advantages college students and their households ought to concentrate on, Hershman stated.

Key options of the AOTC embody:

• Up to $2,500 per scholar a yr for tuition, charges and required course supplies.
• Don’t make sufficient to owe taxes? You STILL might qualify for as much as $1,000.
• For college students who’re a minimum of half-time in a level or certificates program, or a program resulting in acknowledged schooling credential.
• Can be used for 4 years of upper schooling so long as the college is eligible to take part in a federal scholar support program administered by the U.S. Education Department.
• Available to people with lower than $90,000 or joint return filers with lower than $180,000 in earnings.
• Are you an undergraduate? Job coaching scholar? Apprentice? See if you happen to qualify

Students not qualifying for the AOTC might qualify as an alternative for as much as $2,500 per yr for out-of-pocket tuition and costs, per return, by way of the Lifetime Learning Credit. The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit solely permits for out of pocket tuition and payment bills and books and provides solely when they’re included in tuition and costs as a situation of enrollment. The marketing campaign urges college students to take a look at IRS sources to see whether or not they qualify for these necessary advantages.