Maine 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 2014 ................................................................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 - If this is the ﬁ rst year you are claiming this credit, you must include a complete copy of your college transcript, proof of the

educational loans that qualify for the credit and proof of the educational loan payments made by you or your employer during the tax year.

Additionally, Maine Revenue Services may request additional documentation supporting your claim in subsequent tax years.

2015 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 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.

NOTE: “Worked in Maine” includes an employee who has worked outside Maine for up to 3 months during the Maine residency

period of the tax year. An employee who worked in Maine for any part of a month is considered to have worked in Maine for

that entire month.

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 2014, earned all credit hours for a bachelor's degree after 2007 and made monthly payments in 2015 of $375 for qualiﬁ ed

loans, the amount you can use to calculate the credit is $363, the applicable monthly benchmark loan payment for individuals graduating

in 2014 (see instructions for line 1 below). Using this example, if you made regularly scheduled monthly payments of $375 through the

entire year and worked in Maine all year, your credit would be $363 x 12 = $4,356.

For tax year 2015, 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);

Maine Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet - 2015 Page 2

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