The
HOPE credit and the Lifetime Learning credit for qualified tuition and related
expenses may allow you to turn part of the higher education expenses you incur
for yourself, your spouse, or your dependents into tax savings.
The
maximum HOPE credit a taxpayer may claim for 2006 is $1,650 per student,
for the first two years of undergraduate education at an eligible educational
institution. The maximum HOPE credit amount is adjusted for inflation annually.
The maximum Lifetime Learning credit that may be claimed is $2,000 per year per
taxpayer, for any post-high school education (including courses to acquire
or improve job skills) at an eligible educational institution. The maximum
Lifetime Learning credit will not be adjusted for inflation. Generally,
eligible educational institutions are accredited schools offering credit toward
a bachelor's or associate's degree or other recognized post-high school
credential, and certain vocational schools.
The maximum credit amounts are doubled for students in the Gulf
Opportunity Zone, which is a designated portion of the Hurricane Katrina
disaster area, for 2005 and 2006.
The
HOPE credit is available only for the qualified tuition and related expenses of
an eligible student. An eligible student is one who's enrolled in a degree or
certificate program at an eligible educational institution on at least a
half-time basis, and who has never been convicted of a federal or state felony
drug offense. The Lifetime Learning credit is not subject to the eligible
student/felony drug offense restrictions, and may be available for a student
taking only one course.
A
taxpayer may claim a HOPE credit or a Lifetime Learning credit for a tax year and
exclude from gross income amounts distributed (principal and earnings) from a
Coverdell education savings account (formerly called an education IRA) for the
same student, as long as the distribution isn't used for the same educational
expenses for which a credit was claimed. Similarly, a taxpayer may claim a HOPE
credit or Lifetime Learning credit for a tax year and also exclude from gross
income amounts distributed from a qualified 529 tuition program on behalf of
the same student, as long as the distribution isn't used for the same expenses
for which a credit was claimed.
The
HOPE/Lifetime Learning credits may not be claimed in the same tax year for the
same expenses, but each may be claimed for different expenses. For example, in
the same tax year, a taxpayer may claim the HOPE credit for the qualified
tuition and related expenses of one or more qualifying dependents, and may
claim the Lifetime Learning credit for the qualified tuition and related
expenses incurred for him or herself.
In
order to be eligible for the HOPE credit or the Lifetime Learning credit for a
tax year, qualified tuition and related expenses must be paid during that tax
year for education furnished during an academic period that starts within that
tax year or within the first three months of the following year. Under this
rule, taxpayers have a timing option. For example, for a semester beginning in
January of Year 2, a taxpayer may pay the expenses in Year 1 or Year 2. The
credit will be available in whichever year the payment is made.
The
HOPE/Lifetime Learning credits are nonrefundable— they can reduce regular
income taxes to zero but cannot result in the receipt of a refund. Also, the
credits are allowed only to the extent that the taxpayer's regular income tax
liability exceeds his or her tentative minimum tax. If the expenses on which
the HOPE/Lifetime Learning credits are based are later refunded, the credits
may have to be recaptured—i.e., the tax for the refund year may be increased to
account for a recomputed credit for the earlier year.
HOPE/Lifetime
Learning credits are based on the payment of qualified tuition and related
expenses. These are the expenses for tuition, books and academic fees that are
required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution.
Qualified tuition and related expenses do not include student activity
fees, athletic fees, insurance expenses, room and board, transportation costs
and other personal living expenses. They also don't include the cost of any
course or education involving sports, games, or hobbies unless the course or
education is part of the student's degree program. However, for students in the Gulf Opportunity
Zone during 2005 and 2006, qualified expenses include books, supplies,
equipment, and for at least half-time students, room and board expenses.
The
amount of qualified tuition and related expenses taken into account in
computing the HOPE/Lifetime Learning credits must be reduced by tax-exempt
scholarships and fellowships, certain military benefits, and any other
tax-exempt payments of those expenses other than gifts or bequests.
For
2006, both the HOPE credit and the Lifetime Learning credit are phased out
ratably for married taxpayers filing jointly with adjusted gross income (AGI),
with certain modifications, between $90,000 and $110,000. That is, the credit
is reduced if the modified AGI is above $90,000 and is unavailable if it's $110,000
or more. For taxpayers who aren't married filing jointly, the phase-out range
for 2006 is $45,000 to $55,000. These phase-out amounts are adjusted for
inflation annually. Neither the HOPE credit nor the Lifetime Learning credit is
available for taxpayers who are married filing separately.
In
addition, neither the HOPE credit nor the Lifetime Learning credit is allowed
to an individual who is claimed as a dependent on another's return. In this
situation, the HOPE/Lifetime Learning credits are allowed instead to the
taxpayer claiming that individual as a dependent, and the credits are based on
the total qualified tuition and related expenses paid both by the taxpayer and
the student. But if no one claims the student as a dependent on a tax return
for the year, the HOPE/Lifetime Learning credits are allowed to the student on
his or her own return, based on the expenses paid by the student. In either
case, the student's credit takes into account the expenses that a third party
pays to the eligible educational institutional directly.
Eligibility
for the HOPE and Lifetime Learning credits are subject to a number of technical
requirements not discussed above. Please give our office a call to discuss your
eligibility for these credits and how to claim them.