If you paid your tuition fees from last year out of your own pocket, you are eligible for a tax break, Hortense Cooper, Director of Financial Aid & Scholarships, said.

“The tax break is not new, it’s just a different spin on it this year,” Cooper said.

Prior to this year, we had the Hope Scholarship, which had different income ranges, Cooper said.

“It had different income ranges for college expenses,” Copper said.

The new tax break is called the Tuition and Fees Deduction, Copper said.

“2009, which you are filing in 2010, is the last year this tax break is offered,” Cooper said.

All you need to do is be aware of the break and tell your tax preparer, Cooper said.

“I am aware of the tax break, my parents keep-up with current issues,” Cody Blank, 21, Marketing, said.

The tax break is a good thing when you are not putting a drain on the system and then you get something back, Blank said.

“The maximum amount they can claim is 4,000 dollars a year and it’s limited by income ranges; 4,000 max for income up to 65,000, if you are single or 130,000 for joint filers,” Cooper said.

First of all, in order to be eligible for the tax refund students need to have paid tuition and then they need to file a 1040 or 1040A tax form, Cooper said.

“For those who paid out of pocket, they receive a 1099 form from the college,” Cooper said.

“Those that file a 1040EZ, that’s the short form, they don’t have deductions in the short form,” Copper said.

If the students paid their fees and tuition with financial aid funds then they are not eligible, Cooper said.

“If the student is claimed by the parent, the parent can claim the tax credit,” Cooper said.

So 2009 is scheduled to be the last year that tax preparers can deduct the tax from tax paperwork, which is being processed this year, Copper said.

“2009 is scheduled to be the last year so they could have legislation that changes that but right now it’s the last year for the Tuition and Fees Deduction,” Cooper said.

So it’s very important for students to first understand that this is a tax break for students who pay out of pocket, Cooper said.

“I want to just emphasize that financial aid does not have responsibility for tax filing and we don’t give advice for tax filing, so if they need additional information it would be through their tax preparer or the IRS directly,” Cooper said.