MHEC NEWS BRIEF
Need Money to Go to College?The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) offers scholarships and grants based on your career choices. MHEC awards these grants and scholarships to students enrolled in certain degree programs. The Workforce Development Sequence Scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance to students enrolling in an approved non-credit certificate program leading to apprenticeships, employment, licensure, or job skill enhancement at a participating Maryland community college. The Workforce Development Sequence Scholarship has a maximum award amount of $2,000 annually.
Governor Hogan Helping to Lessen Student Loan Debt for Maryland Residents Governor Hogan has consistently made college affordability one of his administration’s top priorities and has worked with the Maryland Higher Education Commission to produce solutions for our students and graduates. The reforms championed by Governor Hogan continue to provide much-needed relief to the hundreds of thousands of Marylanders who are currently burdened by student debt. One particular State program, administered by MHEC, is the Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit. Both undergraduate and graduate student debt is eligible for the tax credit. The 2022 Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit application process opened on July 1, 2022 and Maryland taxpayers who have incurred at least $20,000 in undergraduate and/or graduate student loan debt, and have at least $5,000 in outstanding student loan debt at the time of applying for the tax credit, will be able to apply through September 15, 2022. This is a tax credit, which is claimed on the Maryland income tax return when Maryland taxes are filed. If the credit is more than the taxes owed, a tax refund for the difference will be issued. For example, if the Maryland resident owes $800 in taxes without the credit, and then claims a $1,000 Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit, the resident will receive a $200 refund. Under Maryland law, the tax credit recipient must submit proof of payment to MHEC, showing that the tax credit was used for the purpose of paying down the qualifying student loan debt. If this proof is not provided within two years of when the credit is claimed, the credit will be recaptured by the Maryland Comptroller and the recipient will be responsible for paying those taxes in a subsequent year. |
A Note from Maryland Higher Education Secretary Dr. James FielderAccording to EducationData.org, student loan debt in the United States totals $1.748 trillion and the average student loan debt in Maryland is $42,861. Because of escalating debt and the intense burden it puts on our graduates, MHEC administers several Loan Assistance Repayment Programs (LARP) available to provide financial assistance to graduates working in specific occupations, in certain sectors, including individuals who provide public service and serve Maryland’s underserved residents. These employment fields include lawyers, nurses, nurse faculty, licensed clinical counselors, physical and occupational therapists, social workers, speech pathologists, teachers, public defenders and prosecutors, and dentists. Maryland also has a Loan Assistance Repayment Program for foster care recipients to provide assistance in the repayment of educational loans owed by foster care recipients who are employed by the state, or by a county or municipality in Maryland, and who received a graduate or undergraduate degree from an institution of higher education in the state. Some of the programs offer eligible residents up to $30,000 toward their student loan debt, so I encourage you to look through the various LARP programs available on our website and scroll to the bottom of the page to see if you are eligible for the money that is available to you, as a Maryland resident. 
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