These days many people are nervous about returning to school due to the poor economic conditions. However, this is a great time to finish your degree, or even pursue your dream of a college education–and if you are a single mother, no time is better than now. Why? Because there is more financial assistance available for single mothers than ever before. Women all over the US are using federal grants and tax credit programs to help get them through college.

Tax Credits

While the Earned Income Credit has benefited many single moms as head of the household, there are many other tax credit programs that will help directly with education. One such tax credit is the American Opportunity Tax Credit program. This federal program is intended to cover the first $4,000 of a citizens higher education, and is calculated on previous years income instead of current or future.

In addition, look for check tax credits for education at the state level. Some state tax credits are even specially geared toward working women. For example, there is a program in Indiana that helps day care workers get an education.

Grants

The Federal Pell Grant program is perhaps the most well-known today. President Obama recently increased them for low income students. Now the maximum allowable grant is $5,100, up from $4,050. Eventually the Obama hopes to raise it up to $5,400, which will be a great boost to single mothers.

Is There Assistance Available for Online Programs?

If you working or single mother, you are probably not going to have time for traditional classes. Do not worry–the Pell Grant program is for online degrees as well as traditional campus schools! Many of the other financial aid programs are also designed to include online courses, which is an great program for single mothers.

Obviously, there are a lot of financial aid programs out there so this means a lot of money available for you. But it can be a time consuming task to find them–so you may want to consider using a scholarship and grant matching program. Many of them are free or very low cost, and they can help you find money you would never have thought possible or found on your own.