Posted Date:March 17, 2015
| Author: | Brenda Wensil, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Sharing information on educational tax benefits with students and families
As I am sure most of you are aware the Federal tax code includes a number of provisions designed to reduce or partially offset the costs of higher education for students and families. Among those are the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and the Lifetime Learning Tax Credit, both designed to help families pay for at least a portion of higher education tuition and fees and related costs. However, based on both anecdotal information and data from the IRS we believe many students and their families do not take advantage of these tax credits that could save them thousands of dollars.
To help address this problem, the IRS has prepared a flyer for high schools and college financial aid offices to use to alert students of these potential tax benefits. The flyer, called, “Students and parents – Why Form 1098-T is important to you?” is directed to students and provides a brief explanation of the credits and where to get additional information. We have provided a copy of the flyer as a ‘PDF’ attachment to this message.
We are asking all high school and college counselors, advisors, and financial aid administrators to make these flyers as widely available to student and families as is possible. This could include posting the flyers to websites, using other social media, or for postsecondary schools and colleges, including them in students’ admissions letters, registration materials, and financial aid award packets.
For more information about these tax credits go to:
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Education-Credits-AOTC-LLC