Opportunity Maine
Clarification and/or Limitation of Eligibility
For students already enrolled in associate’s or bachelor’s degree program prior to January 1, 2008, only the percentage of the degree work completed after January 1, 2008 qualifies for tax credits.
For the purpose of this program, student loans includes all loans certified by a college’s financial aid office, including but not limited to Stafford Loans, Perkins Loan, Private/Alternative Educational Loans and University Loans.
Students must complete all of their coursework through a Maine college or university in order to be eligible for the tax credit. Students are able to participate in study abroad or exchange programs through their Maine institution and still maintain their eligibility for the Opportunity Maine Program.
Loans must have a repayment term of at least eight years in order for the student to be eligible for the Opportunity Maine tax credit.
If a student accelerates repayment of his or her loan, he or she forfeits any right to claim an educational tax credit for that or any future tax years (except for any credit that has been carried over from a prior tax year).
Any refinancing (consolidation, for example) must be separate from other debt and must result in a decrease in the annual repayment and remaining indebtedness.
Students who attend school in Maine meet the definition of a Maine resident while enrolled in an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program. When the student graduates and seeks to claim the educational opportunity tax credit, the student must meet the definition of “resident individual” which governs the imposition of the income tax.
More Information
Many answers to questions about how the program works are available from the laws that created the program. For copies of those laws, see the following.
If you are a student interested in how this program can affect you individually, go to:
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/ros/lom/LOM123rd/rtf/PUBLIC469.rtf; and
http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/071/071c145.doc.
Or if you are a business interested in how this program can affect your business, go to:
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/ros/lom/LOM123rd/PUBLIC469_ptB.asp; and
http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/05/071/071c145.doc