Tax-Based Higher Education Assistance

Since 1997, education tax benefits have become an increasingly important component of federal higher education policy. Fourteen tax benefits are currently available for college students and their parents to help pay for higher education. The available tax benefits are a mixture of credits, deductions, exclusions, and other incentives. The benefits can be placed into one of three general categories: incentives for current year expenses, preferential tax treatment of student loans, and incentives for saving for college. This book provides an overview and contrast of higher education tax benefits with traditional student aid; a brief history of higher education tax policy over the past 60 years; a summary of key features of the available tax benefits; and an estimate of revenue losses resulting from individual tax provisions.