 Third, a taxpayer may only take the credit during the first two years of post-secondary education.The credit amount is phased out gradually once a taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income exceeds $50,000 ($100,000 if filing jointly) and the credit is phased out entirely once a taxpayer's modified adjusted gross income exceeds $60,000 ($120,000 if filing jointly).According to Paulsen and Smart, the federal Hope tax credit gets its name from Georgia's merit-based scholarship program of the same name, HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally).