Student Financial Services

Opportunity Maine

• Refers to an Educational Opportunity Tax credit offered by the State of Maine to students who completed all coursework at, and graduated from a Maine institution, who live, work and pay taxes in Maine and have student loans taken out after January 1, 2008.
  
  
• Students who graduated in 2008 & 2009 were required to complete and submit to the Office of Student Financial Services an Opportunity Maine Contract prior to graduation. A contract is no longer required. Graduates will provide the corresponding “benchmark loan payment”.
  
  

• To claim the tax credit, graduates including those who graduated in 2008 and 2009 (who previously were required to sign a contract) need only to complete a tax worksheet and submit it along with the Maine income tax return.

• The Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet is now available on the Maine Revenue Service’s website. When completing the worksheet, you will need to know the Benchmark Loan Payment.
  
  
• SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION. In the first year a taxpayer claims the credit, MRS requires the following documents be included with your Maine individual income tax return (Form 1040ME) and completed Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet:
  • A complete copy of the college transcript that lists the name of the degree obtained, classes completed and when completed;
  • Documentation of the educational loans that qualify for the credit, including the monthly student loan payment required to be made; and,
  • The actual monthly student loan payment amounts paid during the tax year

For additional Information, please visit the University of Maine System or Live + Work in Maine