Who It’s For: Maine residents who attended Maine schools and now continue to live and work in Maine. There are also other rules and regulations that vary depending on the year you graduated – check the charts on their website. Note that you will not qualify at all if you graduated before 2008.
How to Apply: You can find the most recent year’s Educational Opportunity Tax Credit Worksheet on the website.
What Loans Qualify: Technically, this doesn’t directly pay off your loans at all; instead, you receive a Maine state tax credit equal to the amount you pay on your loans. Any loan in your name that you can trace directly to your education in Maine should qualify, though loans in someone else’s name (such as Parent PLUS loans) won’t count.
How Much?: The maximum monthly amount varies depending on the level of education and the year of graduation. In general it is somewhere around $70 per month for associate degrees, or around $300+ per month for Bachelor’s or Graduate degrees.
Anything Else I Should Know?: There is also a similar tax credit for employers who help to pay off their employees’ student loan debts. If you own a business and were educated in Maine, be sure to check it out.