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Students who live in a household that makes $90,000 or less a year are now eligible for a Colorado tax credit that will help pay for the first two years of college.
State leaders say accessing that credit for the first time should be an easy process for students attending school this year. Colleges or universities will track which students are eligible and then notify them. But students will still have to file their own tax return to get the money.
The new credit works as a rebate and was approved during this year’s legislative session. The program received wide support from lawmakers, in part because it will cost the state less than paying for tuition and fees upfront.
Many Colorado public universities and colleges have their own programs to pay upfront costs for students, often called Promise programs. Each school’s program has its own eligibility rules. There is no statewide program.
Leaders say the new tax credit will help even more students than the existing school-specific Promise programs. This is especially important, as in-state students face some of the highest tuition rates and fees in the country.
“Just under 50% of our high school graduates are going to postsecondary in Colorado,” said Angie Paccione, Colorado Department of Higher Education executive director. “We want to change that, and we’re hoping that this creates an incentive and some motivation for students to say, ‘It is truly affordable. I could actually do this.’”