Tax Benefits For Education

Abstract

The past eight years have been a time of great change in the tax treatment of higher education expenses.  The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 started this process with the creation of the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credits.  The subsequent Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 expanded these incentives, but these provisions will terminate at the end of 2010 unless new legislation extends them.  This article provides an overview of determining eligibility for education credits and computation thereof, discussion of the deductibility of student loan interest, eligibility for tuition and fees deduction, and comparison of credits versus deductions in terms of which one is more beneficial to a particular taxpayer.