How To Apply for the Hope Education Credit
In today’s world, the education at college or university level is an expensive affair. Students and their parents face heightened education costs when it comes to higher education and it is not always easy. The current financial downturn isn’t helping anyone either.
The government however, does show benevolence wherever and whenever possible. A proof for that is the Hope Education Credit. It is applicable for tax payers who children are studying in college either in freshman or sophomore year. The credit is for the cost of tuition as well as the cost of study materials. If more than one child is studying in the first two years of college, a credit for all can be had. The credit is up to $1800 per person on the taxable income and can go up to $3600 in a calamity hit area.
To apply for the Hope Education Credit, a person must be fulfilling a certain criteria. Those who are in the criteria can apply for the credit.
Instructions
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1
Qualification
In order to qualify, your child must be studying in college either in freshman or sophomore year. The student must be enrolled as part time at least and should be studying in a program that leads to a degree, certificate or a credential. You may need to get a verification of this in writing from the educational institution as it may be required for the grant of the credit. The educational institution in which the student is enrolled must also be accredited otherwise you will not qualify for the credit. It is also required that the student has never received a drug felony conviction.
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2
Calculate Expense
Once you are qualified, you will need to add up all the allowed expenses for the credit. This will include your tuition fee. Other expenses such as cost of supplies, activity fees and fee for books will only qualify if they are mandatory for your education. In case they are optional, they cannot be included for Hope Education Credit.
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3
Fill Out the Forms
You will need to fill parts 1 and 3 of the form 8863. Unless your income level bars you from the credit, you should be getting the above mentioned credit in total. You may need to file in additional documents with the form if needed by the related department.
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