PostHeaderIcon Education Credits – American Opportunity Credit

Parents and students there is an expanded tax credit to help you pay for the first four years of post secondary education. It is the American Opportunity Credit. You can receive a credit up to $2,500 a year for post secondary education expenses. To get the maximum credit you have to spend over $4,000 on qualified expenses. The Hope Credit formerly provided credits for only the first two years of post secondary education expenses and would only offset taxes. Now you can get a credit for the first four year and get a credit in excess of taxes up to a $1,000 refund. The American Opportunity credit is current available on 2009 and 2010 tax year returns. For information about the credit, limits and who qualifies see this IRS article on “American Opportunity Credit”.

If you qualified for this credit in 2009 and did not owe any taxes you could have still received a refund based on this credit. I would be happy to review your 2009 tax return to make sure you took full advantage of this credit. Call me today at 972-439-1955 for a free consultation.

Jeff Haywood, CPA
972-439-1955
jeff.jhtaxes@gmail.com
www.twitter.com/jeffhaywoodcpa

These posts provide highlights that may be of interest to taxpayers. For complete information on these subjects check with the IRS and your financial consultants.

I prepare the following types of tax returns:

Personal
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Also, I am available for tax planning and discussions about business, retirement planning and life goals.

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As always keep in mind that the content provide on this site is general in nature and may or may not apply to your particular case. It is best to check with a tax professional about your circumstances and what is best for you personally. Also, IRS regulations and tax laws are constantly changing and the information on this site is not constantly updated. Again please check with me about your particular circumstances and what will be best in your situation at the given time and law.

This article was written by Jeff Haywood, CPA.
Jeff is a licensed CPA in both Texas and Illinois.
He has prepared income tax returns for the public for over 10 years.
He also has an MBA in Finance from Loyola University in Chicago and he has 24 years experience in Corporate Finance and Business Analysis.


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