The American Opportunity Tax Relief is an expansion of the Hope Educational Assistance Tax Relief that was in effect before to this credit. It was increased with the 2009 stimulus bill that was an attempt to synthesize the economy from the state of recession. The American Opportunity Tax Relief is for $2,500.00 and it is claimed for the for the costs incurred on the first four years of higher education . And no just that, part of it is a refundable credit. The tax holiday is also 40% refundable in that $1,000.00 can be refunded to the taxpayer in the form of a refund check. Any amount above $1,000.00 incurred for higher education can be transferred and used against future tax liabilities in future tax years.
For qualifying for this tax holiday, a taxpayer must earn a maximum of $90,000.00 for single taxpayer and $180,000.00 for couples who file jointly. Many say that the credit is an improvement from the Hope Credit in many ways.

Here is some comparatives between American Opportunity Tax Relief 2011 and the Hope Tax Relief, to begin, the latter was not a refundable tax credit at all. The ceiling on hope tax relief was $1,800.00, and the maximum income that one earned to qualify for the credit was also much lower. The American Opportunity Tax Relief 2011 on the other hand, is a temporary credit set to run to the end of 2012. Make sure, any taxpayer seeking to take advantage of this tax relief will have to do so by this deadline.