tax scholarship

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Some college funding consultants are advertising using ‘tax scholarships’ for middle to high income families to get financial aid. They say this is an IRS regulation that few people know about.</p>

<p>Anyone knows about this? Thanks.</p>

2

<p>There are various tax credits and deductions available for educational expenses. I would not call them a “scholarship”, but others seeking to charge a fee for this type of publicly available information might! See IRS Publication 970 for details. Finaid.org also has some simplified overviews of the the programs.</p>

3

<p>tax scholarship? I’ve never heard of such a thing. There are, as sk8rmom says, several tax breaks available, though most of them phase out for higher income people (depending on what you call high). You certainly don’t need to pay a “consultant” to benefit from these, or even to learn about them.</p>

4

<p>I know about the education tax deductions, 2500 max per child. It seems like they are talking about a larger amount since their fees are in the thousands…</p>

5

<p>There are several tax benefits. The most valuable is the The American Opportunity Tax Credit which is a maximum of $2500 - it is a tax credit, not a deduction (much more valuable). The other benefits are generally less valuable.</p>

<p>But as far as tax “scholarships” worth thousands, I don’t think so.</p>

6

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<p>I would be very leery of what these folks are telling you…and the amount of money they are charging you. Very often these “services” charge you fees for things that are free (like filling out a FAFSA). I would wager that the amount of money you will get from “tax anything” will not be more than the $2500 max that Swimcatsmom is talking about.</p>

<p>There is no such thing as a “tax scholarship”.</p>

7

<p>It seems like they are talking about a larger amount since their fees are in the thousands… </p>

<p>these are scams… walk or better yet, run in the opposite direction.</p>

8

<p>

GIANT red flag right there.</p>

<p>There are thousands of people who make their living around colleges and financial aid. The idea that someone knows a “secret” that only a few people know is ludicrous.</p>