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Extend the American Opportunity Tax Credit

Promise Kept

The Promise

Made on: January 20, 2013
Promise Group: Obameter
Promiser: Barack Obama
Ruling: Promise Kept

I’ve said I want to extend the college tax credit that my administration created so more families can save up to $10,000 on their tuition over four years.

Promiser:

Barack Obama

Promise Group:

Obameter

Current Status

Last updated: January 21, 2013
Promise Kept
Obama promised and delivered.

Updates

1 update
January 21, 2013

Fiscal cliff deal includes five-year extension

The 2009 stimulus bill created the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which was a reimagining and expansion of the existing Hope scholarship credit. After one extension in 2010, the tax credit expired in 2012, and President Obama vowed to extend it again.

The credit is worth up to $2,500 a year for each college student in a family. It can be claimed for four years, so it's worth a total of up to $10,000. It covers tuition, books, supplies and student-activity fees.

In the deal reached late on Jan. 1, 2013, to avoid the sudden spending cuts and tax increases known as the fiscal cliff, Congress agreed to extend the tax credit for another five years.

So it's now set to expire at the end of 2017, and that extension means this earns a Promise Kept.