Hope Credit
Encyclopedia
The United States
federal HOPE Tax credit is a nonrefundable education tax credit of up to $1,800 (an increase from 2007) for each eligible student. Students in a qualified Midwestern disaster area may receive up to $3,600. An eligible student must meet all of the following requirements to deduct the Hope Credit:
The credit is for up to 100% of the first $1,200 ($2,400 if a student in a Midwestern disaster area) and 50% of the second $1,200 ($2,400 if a student in a Midwestern disaster area) of any college-related expenses, including tuition and supplies, during a taxable year. You may not take the Hope Credit if you elect the Lifetime Learning Credit or the education income exclusion for withdrawals from an Education IRA.
The Federal HOPE Tax credit gets its name from the Georgia State University
Merit Scholarship program of the same name. HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) although the Georgia state scholarship is a Merit scholarship the tax credit is not. Perhaps this is why the HOPE Tax Credit lacks a definition for what HOPE stands for.
What is clear, is that the Georgia state 1993 Lottery funded HOPE scholarship program pre dates the 1998 Federal Tax credit by 5 years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
federal HOPE Tax credit is a nonrefundable education tax credit of up to $1,800 (an increase from 2007) for each eligible student. Students in a qualified Midwestern disaster area may receive up to $3,600. An eligible student must meet all of the following requirements to deduct the Hope Credit:
- be enrolled in one of the first two years of post secondary education;
- be enrolled in a program that leads to a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential;
- be taking at least half of the normal full time work load for his/her course of study for at least one academic period beginning during the calendar year;
- not have a felony conviction for possessing or distributing a controlled substance.
The credit is for up to 100% of the first $1,200 ($2,400 if a student in a Midwestern disaster area) and 50% of the second $1,200 ($2,400 if a student in a Midwestern disaster area) of any college-related expenses, including tuition and supplies, during a taxable year. You may not take the Hope Credit if you elect the Lifetime Learning Credit or the education income exclusion for withdrawals from an Education IRA.
History
According to “Michael B. Paulsen & John C. Smart in the Book the Finance of Higher Education: Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice page 351& 352.”The Federal HOPE Tax credit gets its name from the Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
Merit Scholarship program of the same name. HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) although the Georgia state scholarship is a Merit scholarship the tax credit is not. Perhaps this is why the HOPE Tax Credit lacks a definition for what HOPE stands for.
What is clear, is that the Georgia state 1993 Lottery funded HOPE scholarship program pre dates the 1998 Federal Tax credit by 5 years.