The federal government offers two tax credits and one tax deduction for higher education.

If you paid qualified higher education expenses for yourself, a spouse or dependent, you might be able to claim these tax benefits, but there are yards of strings attached.

You can not claim any credits or deductions if your income exceeds certain amounts. Both the income limits and the credits and deductions themselves change over time.

If you don’t make enough money to pay taxes, you can not claim either credit. The credits and deductions can generally be taken only for tuition and fees paid, not room and board.

The Hope tax credit can only be claimed for the student’s first two years of college. A family can claim a tax credit up to $1,650 for each qualifying student. The student must be enrolled at least half time.

The Lifetime Learning tax credit can be claimed any year the student is taking at least one course in a qualified undergraduate or graduate program. The credit is up to $2,000 per family, no matter how many are in college.

Because they are credits, they offset your income dollar for dollar.

You can not take the Hope and the Lifetime Learning credit in the same year for the same student.

In addition to these credits, you also might be able to deduct up to $4,000 in college tuition and fees, even if you don’t itemize deductions. Unlike a tax credit, a tax deduction reduces your income before taxes. This so-called tuition and fees deduction is scheduled to expire after 2008.

You might be able to take a tax credit and the tax deduction in the same year, but you can not use the same expenses to claim both.

If you paid interest on a student loan, you also might be able to deduct up to $2,500 in interest, if your income does not exceed certain limits.

Also check with your state to see if it has any tax breaks for college expenses.

To get current limits and rules for all these tax breaks, go to www.irs.gov and search for Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Higher Education, for the relevant tax year.