§16-60-351. Credit for qualifying education expenses.

(a)(1) For tax years commencing January 1, 2015, and thereafter, a taxpayer who files a state income tax return and is not a dependent of another taxpayer may claim a tax credit for a contribution made to the Department of Postsecondary Education for qualifying educational expenses directly associated with the Career-Technical Dual Enrollment Program as defined by State Board of Education policy.

(2) The tax credit may be claimed by the taxpayer in an amount equal to 50 percent of the total contribution or contributions made to the Department of Postsecondary Education during the taxable year for which the credit is claimed, but such credit is not to exceed an amount greater than 50 percent of the taxpayer's total Alabama income tax liability, and in no case more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for any given tax year.

(3) The cumulative amount of tax credits issued pursuant this article shall not exceed five million dollars ($5,000,000) annually. The Department of Revenue, in conjunction with the Department of Postsecondary Education, shall develop procedures to ensure that this cap is not exceeded, shall also prescribe the various methods by which these credits are to be issued, and shall develop procedures to notify taxpayers at such points in time when the five million dollar ($5,000,000) annual limitation has been reached for the tax credit pursuant to this article.

(4) A taxpayer may carry forward all or part of a tax credit granted to the taxpayer under this article for a period of up to three years.

(b)(1) The Department of Revenue shall adopt rules and procedures consistent with this section as necessary to implement the provisions of this article.

(2) The Department of Revenue shall provide a standardized format for a receipt to be issued by the Department of Postsecondary Education to a taxpayer to indicate the value of a contribution received. The Department of Revenue shall require the taxpayer to provide a copy of the receipt when claiming the tax credit pursuant to this article.

(c) The tax credit provided in this section may be first claimed for the 2015 tax year and may not be claimed for any tax year prior to the 2015 tax year.

(Act 2014-147, §2.)