Although it is called a scholarship, it is really a tax credit. Unlike a tax deduction, which is used to adjust a family's taxable income, a tax credit is deducted from the actual amount of tax owed.
Qualified students can get one for the first two years of postsecondary education.
You don't have to apply for the Hope Scholarship, unlike other scholarships. But, the independent student or parents of the dependent student have to file a tax return and must have tax liability to get it. It becomes available with college tuition and fee payments made after January 1, 1998. This is also a tax credit available to students who have more than two years of postsecondary education. However, the Lifetime Learning Credit and the Hope Scholarship can both be claimed by the family for a tax year, as long as the different tax credits apply to different students.