American Opportunity Credit Expires this year!

When reviewing your clients’ prior year tax returns be sure to check to see if they claimed any college expenses, and if they did, they should have used the American Opportunity Credit.  This credit has a refundable aspect to it, similar to the Earned Income Credit, and is available for the first 4 years of college as opposed to the hope credit which only applies to the first 2 years.  The cap for the credit is $2,500.  Covered items include tuition, books, computers, and course materials.  This credit is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and is only available for 2009 tax returns!  There is talk of expanding the coverage of this credit to include the 2010 tax year, but that has not happened as of yet.  For more info on the American Opportunity Credit visit the IRS’ page by clicking here: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=226993,00.html