Quality Teacher Incentive Credit

If you are a Maryland public school teacher and you paid tuition during the tax year for graduate-level courses to maintain certification, you may be entitled to an income tax credit on your Maryland return.

You may claim a credit for 100 percent of the unreimbursed amount of tuition paid, or $1,500, whichever is less. A credit of up to $3,000 is allowed on a joint return, if each spouse qualifies for the credit.

Qualification

To qualify for the credit, you must:

• Currently hold a standard professional certificate or an advanced professional certificate.
• Be employed by a county/city board of education in Maryland.
• Teach in a public school and receive a satisfactory performance evaluation for teaching.
• Successfully complete the graduate courses with a grade of B or better.
• Have not been fully reimbursed for these expenses. Only the unreimbursed portion qualified for the credit.

The courses taken must be required to maintain certification and the cost of the courses must exceed any amount reimbursed by the county or Baltimore City.

Claiming the credit

To claim the credit:

• Complete Part C of Form 502CR.
• File Form 502CR with your Maryland return.

The credit can be claimed on Maryland forms 502, 505 or 515. It is not available on short Form 503.

If the credit exceeds your tax liability, the unused credit may not be carried forward to any other tax year.