Extend the American Opportunity Tax Credit

Fiscal cliff deal includes five-year extension

Updated: Monday, January 21st, 2013 | By Molly Moorhead

The 2009 stimulus bill created the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which was a reimagining and expansion of the existing Hope scholarship credit. After one extension in 2010, the tax credit expired in 2012, and President Obama vowed to extend it again.

The credit is worth up to $2,500 a year for each college student in a family. It can be claimed for four years, so it's worth a total of up to $10,000. It covers tuition, books, supplies and student-activity fees.

In the deal reached late on Jan. 1, 2013, to avoid the sudden spending cuts and tax increases known as the fiscal cliff, Congress agreed to extend the tax credit for another five years.

So it's now set to expire at the end of 2017, and that extension means this earns a Promise Kept.

Sources:

Forbes.com, "You Can Get $10,000 Per Child In College Tax Credits, Thanks To The Fiscal Cliff Deal,” Jan. 16, 2013

Tax Policy Center, "Tax provisions in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,” Jan. 9, 2013

CNN Money, "Fiscal cliff deal protects family tax breaks,” Jan. 3, 2013