Maine Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet

2015 Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet for

Maine Resident & Part-year Resident Individuals - Instructions, continued

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

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Beginning in 2015, a self-employed person who is an eligible graduate may qualify for the credit for educational opportunity

for individuals. The self-employed person may also qualify for the credit for employers if the self-employed person has

employees. For more information on the employer credit, see the Credit for Educational Opportunity Worksheet for Employers.

If loan payments are made by both you and your employer, your credit is limited to the amount you pay directly to the lender. For example,

if the required 2015 monthly loan payment was $310 and you paid half ($155) and your employer paid half, your credit would be $155 x

12 months = $1,860. Your employer would also be eligible to claim a credit of $1,860 based on the loan payments they made.

Also, the combined credit for you and your employer may not exceed the benchmark loan payment amount multiplied by the number

of months eligible loan payments were made. If the combined credit is based on the benchmark loan payment amount (that is, the

benchmark loan payment amount is less than the combined monthly loan payment made by you and your employer), the benchmark

loan payment must be prorated between you and your employer. For example, if you graduated in 2014 and the required monthly loan

payment in 2015 was $380, of which you paid half ($190) and your employer paid half, the credit for both you and your employer would

be based on the monthly benchmark loan payment amount for individuals graduating in 2014 ($363). Because in this example you paid

half of the required loan payments in 2015, you may use only half of the monthly benchmark loan payment amount ($181) to calculate

your credit. Your 2015 credit, therefore, would be $181 x 12 months = $2,172. Your employer would also be eligible for a credit of $2,172,

based on the remaining half of the benchmark loan payment amount.

If both spouses are eligible, both may claim the credit on a married-joint return. The credit may not reduce your Maine income tax due to

less than zero, except that, for tax years beginning after 2012, the credit is refundable if your degree is an approved degree in science,

technology, engineering or mathematics. Unused non-refundable credit amounts may be carried forward for up to ten years.

Eligible education loan payments are payments made directly to the lender by a qualifying graduate for loans that are part of a ﬁ nancial

aid package certiﬁ ed by an accredited Maine college or university. Eligible education loan payments also include payments made for

loans associated with earning up to 30 credit hours for the degree at an accredited non-Maine college or university by a qualifying

graduate who transferred to an accredited Maine college or university after December 31, 2012; however, the credit will be reduced to

50% for an associate's degree or 75% for a bachelor's degree (see instructions for line 13).

● Only eligible education loan payments made during the part of the tax year during which the individual was a resident of Maine

working in Maine qualify for the credit.

● Payments in excess of the required loan payment are not eligible for the credit.

● Payments on a reﬁ nanced eligible education loan qualify for the credit as long as the reﬁ nanced loan remains separate from any

other debt incurred.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS

Line C. If your degree is an approved degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (“STEM”), check the STEM degree box.

A list of approved STEM degrees is available on the MRS website at

Line D. If your employer made eligible education loan payments on your behalf during your 2015 tax year, enter your employer’s name and

federal employer identiﬁ cation number (“EIN”) in the spaces provided. Your employer's EIN is located on your Form W-2. If you had more

than one employer who made payments on your behalf during the year, attach a schedule showing information for all of those employers.

Note: If the eligible education loan payments made by your employer are included in your federal adjusted gross income

on Maine Form 1040ME, line 14, you may be able to deduct those amounts on Form 1040ME, Schedule 1, line 2k. See the

instructions for Form 1040ME, Schedule 1.

Line 1. Enter the appropriate monthly benchmark loan payment from the table below:

The benchmark loan payment is

If you graduated in:

Associate's degree

Bachelor’s degree

* If you graduated in 2008 or 2009, the benchmark

loan payment is the amount stated in the

2008

Opportunity Maine Contract you signed with your

2009

college or university. If this is the ﬁ rst time you are

2010

$72.00

$343.00

claiming the credit, include a copy of that contract

2011

$68.00

$344.00

with this worksheet, or, if you do not have a copy

2012

$65.00

$342.00

of the contract, include a copy of a statement

2013

$65.00

$356.00

from your school’s ﬁ nancial aid ofﬁ ce stating the

2014

$66.00

$363.00

benchmark loan payment for the year in which

2015

$70.00

$377.00

you graduated.

Maine Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet - 2015 Page 3

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