Form Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet

14. a. If line C above is checked, multiply line 12 by line 13 and enter the result here and on

Form 1040ME, Schedule A, line 3. Then go to line 15 .................................................................14a.

$ _________________

b. If line C above is not checked, multiply line 12 by line 13 and go to line 15 .................................14b.

$ _________________

15. Enter the carryforward of unused credit amount from 2013 ................................................................15.

$ _________________

If line C above is checked, enter this amount on Form 1040ME, Schedule A, line 11. If line C above

is not checked, go to line 16 below.

16. If line C above is not checked, add lines 14b and 15 and enter the total here and on

Form 1040ME, Schedule A, line 11 .....................................................................................................16.

$ _________________

Unused credit amounts on line 14b may be carried forward to future tax years for up to 10 years. See instructions.

Note - Maine Revenue Services may request supporting documentation, including, but not limited to, the following: copy of college

transcript, proof of the educational loans that qualify for the credit, proof of the educational loan payments made by you or your

employer during the tax year.

2014 Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet

for Maine Resident & Part-year Resident Individuals - Instructions

This worksheet and the related instructions are for individual taxpayers who have made eligible education loan payments directly to the

lender. If your employer paid all your education loan payments directly to the lender, you do not qualify for this credit.

Employers eligible to claim the related credit must complete the Credit for Educational Opportunity Worksheet for Employers.

The educational opportunity tax credit is a component of the Job Creation through Educational Opportunity program, which began in

2008. The purpose of the program is to provide an income tax credit for Maine resident taxpayers who have received an undergraduate

degree (associate's or bachelor’s) from an accredited Maine college or university and who, after graduation, live, work and pay taxes in

Maine.

The credit is based on eligible education loan payments (deﬁ ned below) paid directly to the lender during the tax year for months during

which the individual was a resident of Maine and worked for an employer located in Maine. A Maine resident deployed for military

service in the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard and the Reserves of the United States Armed Forces, also

qualiﬁ es if the individual meets all other eligibility criteria. See 26 M.R.S., § 814(1)(A) for qualiﬁ cations to be considered deployed for

military service.

The monthly payment amount eligible for the credit is limited to an upper cap called the benchmark loan payment. For example, if you

graduated in 2013, earned all credit hours for the degree after 2007 and made monthly payments in 2014 of $365 for qualiﬁ ed loans,

the amount you can use to calculate the credit is $356, the applicable monthly benchmark loan payment for individuals graduating in

2013 (see instructions for line 1 below). Using this example, if you made regularly scheduled monthly payments of $365 through the

entire year and worked for an employer located in Maine all year, your credit would be $356 x 12 = $4,272.

A graduate eligible for the program is one who:

●

Obtained an associate's or bachelor’s degree after 2007 from an accredited Maine community college, college or university:

○

all course work completed after 2007 for the degree must have been performed at an accredited Maine community college,

college or university, except that:

beginning in 2013, qualifying graduates may have earned up to 30 credit hours toward the degree at an accredited non-

Maine community college, college or university prior to transferring to an accredited Maine community college, college

or university after December 31, 2012 if the credit hours were earned after 2007;

○

was a Maine resident (as deﬁ ned by education law in 20-A M.R.S. § 12541(5)) while attending a Maine college or university

in pursuit of an associate's or bachelor’s degree (applies only after 12/31/2007);

●

After graduation, is a Maine resident (as deﬁ ned by Maine tax law in 36 M.R.S. § 5217-D(1)(H)) working for an employer

located in Maine. (Note: A self-employed person is not eligible for the credit for educational opportunity for individuals, but may

be eligible for the credit for employers if the self-employed person has employees. For more information, see the Credit for

Educational Opportunity Worksheet for Employers.)

Form Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet - 2014 Page 2

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