Part One is exclusively for the readers who are residents of the State of Maryland. Part One in this scenario, "he" would be the Republican Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan.
Now, if you are a resident within the State of Maryland, I would like to you inform you that if you may qualify for a tax credit for student loan debt up to $1,200.00. If you would like to look into it, please click on the following link:
Now, please note, THIS LINK WILL EXPIRE 15 SEPTEMBER 2022!!
So if you're interested, I suggest clicking on the link and complete the application. Lucky for us, I decided to be a guinea pig to see how this works. I mean, that's the purpose of my non-profit, of this blog. I want to simplify the student loan process, as it currently stands. To state that reform is needed is wellllll beyond reproach. I will dive into that into my Part Two of my "He Came. He Tried. He gave something (very little I might add) slight to make us happy." My recommendation would be for the applicant to complete this action on a computer. There are numerous documents that the applicant would have to upload in order to qualify for the credit.
Here is what you would need:
502 Maryland Tax form from 2021
Transcripts from every school you attended classes, regardless if you've graduated
Statements from current student loan account provider
The application itself is actually simple. I believe that the point of submitting the 502 State of Maryland tax form is to show that you are a MD citizen that has paid on loans while also paying your taxes. Since this coming from the state, instead of federal, I could understand that logic. The first portion of the application is simple. It asks for your name and PII, so please be cautious when completing these forms online.
The first document you would have to upload, and submit, would be the student loan portion of the application. You would have to give the direct amount of how much you owe in your student loan debt. After that, you upload your document from the current party (or parties) that manage your student loan debt. A print out stating your amount, and the type of loans you took out, would be sufficient for this portion of the application.
The second set of documents you would upload, which is the next section of the application, will be the portion related to MD Taxes. Reference MD 502, line 16 to complete that box. Then move on to the documentation. If you've filed your taxes within 2020 and/or 2021, then you have to upload the most recent set of 502 form.
The third set is associated with your educational journey. Regardless if you've finished, you upload any transcript that is directly correlated with the loan portion you uploaded earlier in the application. This is how the State is comparing apples to apples. For example, I attended both Undergraduate, and Graduate School. Therefore, I have two transcripts that were uploaded in order to try to qualify for the tax credit. I've never utilized this tool before. Apparently, this has been available in the state of MD since 2017. You know what they say? You learn something new everyday.
Now, we have the technicalities of how/when to complete the form. One less obstacle in our way. To the next part...should I be happy with this tax credit?
I will say that it is nice to see that this program is directly affecting MD residents. "Maryland taxpayers who have incurred at least $20,000 in undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt and have at least $5,000 in outstanding student loan debt are eligible to apply for the Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit.
There were 9,155 Maryland residents who were awarded the 2021 Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit. The tax credits were divided into two groups of eligibility, including Maryland residents who attended a Maryland institution and Maryland residents who attended an out-of-state institution. There were 5,145 applicants who attended in-state institutions and will each receive $1,067 in tax credits, while 4,010 eligible applicants attended out-of-state institutions and will each receive $875 in tax credits" (Governor.Maryland.gov).
But, in the grand scheme of things, I'm not completely impressed. Let's not forget that HE has still not paid Historically Black Colleges and Universities the money they were awarded in the lawsuit for being underfunded by the State of Maryland for so long. I'm not impressed with this tax credit because it's not guaranteed that you will be given a degree of compensation, even though you would qualify for this action based on all technicalities. I personally believe that we wouldn't even see this action become as aggressive as it has if it wasn't for the Democratic House and Senate located in the State of Maryland. Honestly, even if I was awarded the $875 in tax credits, it would simply go to interest. Would you like to know what else would simply go to interest? The President's new Student Loan Initiative.