The recently enacted Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (the "Act") contains a number of tax provisions affecting businesses and individuals which have not been widely reported. The Act adds a requirement for claiming certain educational credits and deductions and increases the penalties associated with failures to file correct payee statements and information returns.

The provision of the Act which is most likely to affect individual taxpayers relates to a new requirement imposed before one can claim certain educational credits and deductions. For tax years beginning after the June 29, 2015 enactment of the Act (calendar year 2016 for most individual taxpayers), a taxpayer claiming the (1) American Opportunity Tax Credit, (2) Hope Scholarship Credit, (3) Lifetime Learning Credit, and/or (4) deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses must have been issued a Form 1098-T, which is issued by a college or university and contains the information necessary to claim certain education credits and deductions. This requirement is also satisfied where the required Form 1098-T is received by the taxpayer's dependent.

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