WASHINGTON (AP) -- A little-known tuition tax break that was due to expire this month has been renewed for middle-class families nationwide and will provide as much as $2,500 a year in tuition relief through 2012, Sen. Charles Schumer said Wednesday.
The measure takes $1 off a taxpayer's federal bill for every $1 spent on college tuition, the New York Democrat said. Just 43 percent of eligible families took advantage of the break last year.
But families that didn't seek the break can still amend old tax returns, dating back three years, to claim the credit. The tax break can be found in federal tax returns, and tax preparers should be familiar with it, he said.
Schumer sponsored the bill. The renewal of the program, which costs $18 billion over two years, passed the Senate on Wednesday, days before it was to expire, and is expected to pass in the House. Of that total, $2 billion is budgeted for New York.
Higher education costs have risen at many times the inflation rate in recent years.
"A college education is a necessity that is priced as a luxury," Schumer told reporters. "It's breaking the bank of too many New Yorkers."
He cited the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which found cost prevents 48 percent of college-qualified high school graduates from attending a four-year school.
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