Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit for Tax Year 2022 Details

Instructions

Review the steps - read carefully

1. Instructions

   Please read carefully. Applications containing errors or omissions will be rejected and will lose priority in the review process. Applications close on September 15, 2022 at 11:59:00 pm (EDT).

   
   

   I. When setting up your online account, do not enter a temporary email address such as a workplace or college email. Permanent email addresses are required for issuing tax credit awards and for all future correspondence from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).

   II. Set the following email addresses so that they will NOT go to your spam. You will need them to receive important correspondence from MHEC:
   studentdebttaxcredit.mhec@maryland.gov
   onestop.support@maryland.gov
   (Also, you can set your reminder to routinely check your spam folder for emails from MHEC)
   

   III. If you already have an existing OneStop account from a previous year, it is advisable to use it again this year.

   IV. Entering more than one application in the same application year puts all of your applications at risk of being eliminated. Also, do not abandon an application that you already started. You can save it and return to it later.

2. Supporting Documentation

   The following documents are required to be included with your application. Fillable/changeable documents such as Word or Excel are not acceptable. PDF is the preferred format.

   I. Documentation from your lenders showing the educational loans that qualify for the credit. Documentation must include:

   -lender’s name, address, phone number; and
   -borrower’s name, account numbers, original loan balances, current outstanding loan balances

   Failure to provide proper lender documents could disqualify your application. Please do not get disqualified due to incorrect lender documents. Click here to see Lender Document Do's & Don'ts.

   II. A copy of your Maryland income tax return for the most recent prior tax year.

   III. Transcripts from each undergraduate and/or graduate institution that you attended. Include only those that correspond to the college loan debt documentation you are providing. Name of institution and student must be on the transcripts. Unofficial and official transcripts are acceptable.

3. Undergraduate and/or Graduate Student Loan Information

   I. Total Student Loan Amount. Provide the TOTAL amount of all loans incurred for your undergraduate and/or graduate postsecondary education only, regardless of where you attended the courses or programs.

   II. Eligible Undergraduate and/or Graduate Student Loan Balance. Enter the total remaining balance on all undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt which is still due as of the submission of your application.

4. Income Information

   Maryland Adjusted Gross Income. Enter the Maryland Adjusted Gross Income reported on your Maryland State Income Tax return form 502 (line 16) for the most recent prior tax year. Do not prorate your Adjusted Gross Income amount for any reason even if married filing jointly.

5. Degree Information

   I. Provide information on the colleges or universities you attended that correspond to the undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt documents you intend to include with your application. Provide the city and state where each college or university is located, dates of attendance, the types of degrees you received and the college or university that awarded the degree.

   II. Indicate if you were charged any in-state (Maryland) tuition by your undergraduate and/or graduate colleges or universities.

6. Tax Credit Information

   I. Previously RECEIVED a tax credit award. Even if you did not claim the tax credit on your Maryland tax return, you must indicate if you ever received a Maryland Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit award in the past.

   II. Previously CLAIMED the tax credit award. If you claimed the tax credit on your Maryland income tax return, you must indicate all tax years for which you claimed the award.

   III. If you claimed the tax credit on your Maryland tax return, you must indicate all tax years for which you provided MHEC with the required documentation proving that you used the tax credit funds to pay toward your college loans.

7. Sign the Application

   By signing the application, you are affirming under penalty of perjury that the information in the application, including attachments, is true and correct. You also are agreeing that any credit will be used solely for the repayment of eligible student loans, and that the failure to abide by this requirement, including the failure to provide to the Commission documentation showing that you have abided by this requirement, may result in the revocation and recapture of your credit. In addition, you are agreeing to the release of certain information by your educational and financial institutions. Please review the requirements and conditions carefully before signing and submitting the application.

8. Follow-Up Documentation

   If you claim the tax credit on your Maryland income tax return, then you must, within two years from the close of the taxable year for which the credit applies, submit to the Maryland Higher Education Commission, documentation evidencing that you used the full amount of the tax credit for the repayment of eligible student loans. Failure to provide this documentation will result in the revocation and recapture of your credit.

9. Tax-General Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland

   The Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit is a program, created under § 10-740 of the Tax-General Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, to provide an income tax credit for Maryland resident taxpayers who are making eligible undergraduate and/or graduate education loan payments on loans from an accredited college or university. These may include loans obtained to earn an undergraduate and/or graduate degree, such as an associate, bachelor, masters, professional graduate, doctoral, or post-doctoral degree. Priority is given to individuals who meet the following criteria: (1) they have not received the Maryland tax credit in any prior years; and (2) they incurred their loans in order to pay in-state tuition to an institution located in Maryland. Additional prioritization criteria are set forth in § 10-740 of the Tax-General Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland, and in the implementing regulations.

10. If you prefer to complete a hard copy application instead of applying online, you may mail it to:

    Maryland Higher Education Commission, Attn: Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit, 6 North Liberty Street, 10th floor, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

11. Questions

    studentdebttaxcredit.mhec@maryland.gov