Cash back for tuition
New tax credit can get students up to $2,500 back with tax refund
Eder Campuzano
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
What would you do with an extra $2,500?
The American Opportunity Credit, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009, permits students to write-off tuition and other qualified expenses on their 2010 and 2011 tax returns for the prior years.
For some, that could mean a rebate of up to $2,500. Even students who earned no income in 2009 can claim up to $1,000 in qualified expenses.
The first $2,000 a taxpayer incurs in tuition and related expenses - books, paper, and tuition fees - is 100 percent refundable. Of the next $2,000 in those fees, 25 percent - or $500 - is refundable.
In the event that a student earns no income in 2009, but pays $1,000 or more in tuition and fees, 100 percent of that is refundable.
According to Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan, tuition and fees at LCC are right at that "sweet spot," where those expenditures hover around $2,500 for the average full-time student.
So what would students to with that kind of cash?
Freshman Stephen Maas would use it to pay off some credit card debt and possibly make some repairs to his car.
"There could be a lot of implementations," he said. "It might even make people decide to go further with their schooling and pursue a higher degree instead of just settling."
The American Opportunity Credit, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama in February 2009, permits students to write-off tuition and other qualified expenses on their 2010 and 2011 tax returns for the prior years.
For some, that could mean a rebate of up to $2,500. Even students who earned no income in 2009 can claim up to $1,000 in qualified expenses.
The first $2,000 a taxpayer incurs in tuition and related expenses - books, paper, and tuition fees - is 100 percent refundable. Of the next $2,000 in those fees, 25 percent - or $500 - is refundable.
In the event that a student earns no income in 2009, but pays $1,000 or more in tuition and fees, 100 percent of that is refundable.
According to Chief Financial Officer Greg Morgan, tuition and fees at LCC are right at that "sweet spot," where those expenditures hover around $2,500 for the average full-time student.
So what would students to with that kind of cash?
Freshman Stephen Maas would use it to pay off some credit card debt and possibly make some repairs to his car.
"There could be a lot of implementations," he said. "It might even make people decide to go further with their schooling and pursue a higher degree instead of just settling."
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