Millions of Hoosiers are eligible for new relief on their 2009 taxes, thanks to tax credits in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

The most significant opportunities for tax savings include:

• The American Opportunity Credit for college tuition, which allows Hoosier families to save as much as $2,500 a year for every student they send to college. Approximately 76,000 Hoosiers will better afford a college education because of this credit.     
• The Making Work Pay Credit, which provides tax relief to 2.4 million working Hoosiers through a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for individuals and $800 for married couples. 
• A first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000 to assist homeowners.   
• The Alternative Minimum Tax patch will save an estimated 275,000 Indiana families from thousands of dollars in additional income taxes.
• A suspension of the federal income tax on the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits to alleviate the tax burden for Hoosiers working to find a job.

In order to claim the new deductions and tax credits, Senator Bayh recommends that taxpayers carefully review the IRS’s federal incom e tax guide, Publication 17 on the IRS’s website. Hoosiers can visit www.irs.gov and search for “17” in the upper right corner of the home page. Hoosiers can also call 1-800-TAX-FORM (829-3676) to request a free copy of the guide from the IRS.  

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