The Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credit
Getting Student Education Tax Breaks
The HOPE Scholarship is actually a tax credit. The Lifetime Learning Tax Credit are somewhat similar. Only one of them can be claimed in the same year for the same student. Although there is no limit on how many years taxpayers can claim the Lifetime Learning Credit, the Hope Credit can only be claimed a maximum of 2 years per eligible student.
Making a Choice
There are different rules for each of these credits as well as the amount of the overall credit. For example, the Hope Credit has a maximum of $1500 per student while the Lifetime Learning Credit can be as much as $2,000 per return. That's an important distinction because with the Lifetime Learning Credit, you can take only 20% of the first $10,000 you pay in qualified educational expenses for ALL students while the Hope Credit is measured per student.
At any rate, as these are tax credits and not deductions, they only exist to lower your taxes. Any amount left over after the amount of the taxes you owe is subtracted will not be refunded to you. The best case scenario is that you would break even, but at the very least you would have the amount of taxes you owe reduced.
Another thing to consider and what may very well be the deciding factor when choosing between the two credits is with the Hope Credit you must be enrolled in school at least halftime for one of the academic periods beginning during the tax year. With the Lifetime Learning Credit, as long as you are taking one course, you can take the credit. You won't be eligible to take the Hope credit unless you are pursuing an undergraduate degree or a certificate however the Lifetime Learning Credit has no such requirement.
Any student who has a felony drug conviction on his or her record will not ever be eligible to take the Hope Credit while the Lifetime Learning Credit does not have that stipulation.
You may not have to choose between the two credits if you fall into one of the specific categories that would rule out taking only one of the credits. If you do qualify for both, obviously you want to take the one that will benefit you the most. If you are paying the expenses of more than one student and as long as the student qualifies for the credit, you can take the Hope Credit for one student and the Lifetime Learning Credit for the other.
You still have income guidelines to consider based on your modified adjusted gross income or MAGI. For both credits your MAGI cannot be over $53,000 or $107,000 if filing a joint return.
You won't be able to take either credit if you have deducted the same educational expenses on the same return. For example, if you decide to take the tuition and fees deduction you wouldn't be eligible for the Hope Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.
Filing Taxes
Your college or university will send form 1098-T which will either show the payments received or amount billed for qualified educational expenses. You should receive this form by January 31 in any given tax year. As long as you meet eligibility requirements to claim the Hope Credit, you'll be able to claim 100% of qualified educational expenses up to the first $1,000 and 50% of qualified educational expenses of the second $1,000. So for example, if your qualified educational expenses are $850 your Hope Credit will be $850. However, if your qualified educational expenses are $1800, your Hope Credit would be $1400. (100% of the first $1,000 equals $1,000 and 50% of the second $1,000 equals $400.)
To claim the Hope Credit, you complete parts 1 and 3 of form 8863 and submit it with your tax return. To claim the Lifetime Learning Credit, you complete parts 2 and 3 of the same form.
Now obviously, if you only have $1,000 in qualified educational expenses, you can see that you would benefit more by taking the Hope Credit as opposed to the Lifetime Learning Credit because with the Hope Credit your tax credit would be $1,000 while the Lifetime Learning Credit would be only $200. However, if you do not qualify for the Hope Credit, you'll certainly want to take the Lifetime Learning Credit unless of course, you are able to deduct tuition and fees or other situations apply.
As with all tax situations, there are usually ifs, ands, or buts. The above is a general guideline as to who can take either credit. To see the full scope of the rules that apply for each credit, log on to www.irs.gov and examine publication 970.
