Several tax benefits are available to help families meet the cost of post-secondary education. These education tax benefits are intended to help students and their parents reach their education goals.

If you are paying higher education costs for yourself or another student, there are Federal tax benefits available to you.

• the Hope Credit
• the Lifetime Learning Credit

Other types of tax benefits are also available. With these benefits, you may be able to:

• Deduct student loan interest
• Receive tax-free treatment of canceled student loans
• Deduct tuition and fees for higher education
  

Tax credits and deductions are different: a tax credit directly reduces the amount of income tax you may have to pay, while a deduction reduces the amount of income subject to tax.

The information contained in this section is from IRS Publication 970: Tax Credits for Education. PNC and Villanova University do not provide tax advice and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information. Please consult your tax advisor for tax advice matters contained in this section.

For more information, visit www.irs.gov or call 1-800-829-1040.