Comments on: American Opportunity Tax Credit Details

By: steve S.

steve S. — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:25:11 +0000

Maybe you can use the AOTC and get edu ma cated!

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:37:14 +0000

be nice- you never know what loans have been incurred to get to that point.

By: steve S.

steve S. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:10:00 +0000

See a Certified Financial Planner

By: steve S.

steve S. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:03:19 +0000

this can not be used for graduate school

By: isis

isis — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:47:48 +0000

To say that everyone that doesn’t have a high paying jonb is going to spend it on cars or crack has to be the most crackhead person I have ever heard of> what are your reasons or your statistics for claiming this nonsense? I swear some of you people live in lala land. Most of us have had to bust our asses go to school or to even put up a small business that doesn’t make enough money because of people thinking like you who got us into this mess. I finally have some money to go to school for free…hallelujah! now i can finish my damn BA without having to work a full time job. Its about damn time considering all of europe gets higher education for free. I think you have your head up your ass and thats why it looks liek everyone is smokign crack. if you look outside and get real maybe you’ll see there’s alot of good people trying to do the best they can while the elite are trying to get rich off of us. asshole.

By: Bob the Pro

Bob the Pro — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:08:32 +0000

This new American Opportunity tax credit replaces the Hope credit for 2009 and 2010 tax years. Can be up to $2500 for first 4 years of undergrad (Hope credit was 2 years). Limits and qualifications similar to Hope credit apply.

Other good news I have not seen mentioned is this credit and the lifetime credit are both doubled, yes doubled, if you go to a school in the designated “Midwestern Disaster Area” and Hurricane Ike. States listed are Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. Ike affected states are Texas and Louisiana. Not all counties in these states are included so you must check if your school qualifies. If you attended school in these states check at IRS.GOV under Midwestern Disaster Area. Best wishes from HR BLOCK.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:47 +0000

The American Opportunities Credit is really a two-year beef up and extension of the Hope Credit. It extends it to the first 4 years of college (undergrad). And it ups the credit potential from $1800 to $2500. It also covers books and laptops, which Hope did not.

Even better that that, say your tax liability is $1,000. You have $2500 worth of expenses. You can take off your tax liability of $1,000 and then get a refund of up to 40% of $1500. That makes the credit somewhat “refundable.”

I’m in the Jackson Hewitt tax course this fall and we just talked about this. Not sure about married filing separately. I would always check the IRS publication or talk to a tax preparer. Now that I’m taking the class, I see how much support they have in terms of materials.

By: surprised

surprised — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:47:34 +0000

quick-fixes are what put us into this mess, thomas.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:32:03 +0000

some of us could only dream of making over 100,000. The sad truth is that you are worried about not benefiting from this act yourself when you can obviously afford everything you need. This Act will help those of us like myself who work 40 hours a week for $8.50 and hour and ARE trying to improve our lives so that we can make more money. Don’t always be so blind to others, stop thinking about yourself all the time.

By: Donns

Donns — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:37:40 +0000

As a student paying your own way you can claim this credit on your tax return for four years as long as you do not make more than 80K per year.

By: Monica

Monica — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:25:16 +0000

I’m with you Michael. I’m 27 as well and a single mom of boys, ages 3 years & 5 years. I put myself through college, graduating with my Associates in the Spring of 2009. I’m even holding down the house while my boyfriend returns back to school for his final 2 years. To top it all off, I bring in less than $25K a year, so I don’t want to hear a single yelp that someone bringing in over $100K is having issues!

By: Puzzled

Puzzled — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:43:03 +0000

We have two kids in college. A 1st year pharmacy and the 2nd attending a community college. Helping your kids through college is the greatest (but most expensive gift we could give them). A huge issue is all the college expenses that are not allowed to be claimed for the few tax credits; college books not purchased from the bookstore – ebay or Amazon is a more affordable option; An alotted deductible amount for living expenses for students who cannot communte and attend year round which makes the dorms not an affordable option; internet service for online classes; class required uniforms for medical field students; ect.! Another huge issue is when students are forced to provide parent tax returns in cases where the parents aren’t helping pay for college, and refuses to provide the information or is causes the student not to recieve any Fin Aid, some states demand that students be claimed until they are 24 as dependents.

By: michael

michael — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:50:23 +0000

Just so you know this new tax credit is for families who make less than 160,000/year and if you make more than that and can’t afford it then you need help with your finances because i’m 27 and i can afford college with a baby and me and my wife making 60,000.

By: midclassdad

midclassdad — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:41:40 +0000

I claimed you because it gives me a $3500 duduction. The useless Hope credit is only for parents who make less than 116000/year. We make more than that,lucky for you, so we get $0 for the credit. Thanks but no thanks obama!
BTW – weakonomist, get a job and pay your own tuition like your mom and i did at a major University. weak? yes!.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:41:43 +0000

I need to know if a person is eligible to claim this credit if they have already claimed the Hope Credit??

And also do they really have to work 100 hours of community service??