It is important to note that state lottery-funded scholarships such as Georgia's HOPE program are different and separate from the federal
Hope tax credit, now known as the American Opportunity Tax Credit.
I have also noted with interest recent proposals to broaden the
HOPE tax credit program for Higher Education costs.
Programs include up to $1,500 for a
Hope Tax Credit and up to $2,000 for the Lifetime Learning Credit.
At the center of this plan is a College Opportunity Tax Credit, building on the existing
Hope tax credit. The new credit will be available for four years and will cover more than 60 percent of the first $4,000 in tuition.
Forty-five percent of students claiming the
Hope tax credit were able to claim the maximum amount, and 25% of all those claiming the Lifetime Learning tax credit claimed the maximum amount.
* An estimated $3.5 billion under the
HOPE tax credit, which allows a credit of up to $1,500 for tuition and fees during the first two years of postsecondary education;
The latter requirement was designed to curb fraud in cases where a student might claim eligibility for a
HOPE tax credit but still get reimbursed for tuition from an employer or other organization.
By covering only tuition, the
HOPE tax credit provides little assistance to its original target audience -- low- and middle-income students, many of whom attend two-year colleges, according to Reps.
GAO found that, in the 1999-2000 academic year, the Lifetime Learning and
HOPE tax credits provided an estimated four in 10 undergraduate students with benefits that equaled a varying share of tuition and fees charged and title IV aid received.
In the 1999-2000 academic year, it is estimated that the Lifetime Learning and
HOPE tax credits provided more than 4 in 10 undergraduate students with benefits that equaled a varying share of tuition and fees charged and Title IV aid received.