Hey, watch what über-geek extraordinaire Chris Pirillo has to say about buying textbooks and check out the full story on his site.

If you haven’t ordered your books yet, wait no longer as the cheap used books are the first to go! The longer you wait, the less you save. And hey, don’t forget to save your receipts from your textbook and supply purchases so you can get some money back come tax time!

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At CampusBooks.com, we don’t sell or buy textbooks; our business is that of providing the information and resources that students can use to make the best choices possible when it comes to saving money in their pursuits of higher education. We believe that students have options and that presented with all available information, they will make choices that are personally and globally responsible and savvy.

In this installment of the blog, we’re taking time out to make sure that you’re up to speed on the important and beneficial changes to the Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits portion of the 2009 and 2010 tax code. This information could mean up to $2,500 in tax credits for college students and their families. We urge you to do a few easy things to make sure that you are not only saving the most money now but getting the most money back come tax time.

1. Visit TextbookAid.org to find out the full details of the American Opportunity Tax Credit. If your parents or anyone else is involved in paying for your education, share this information with them (and anyone else who could claim you as a dependent come tax time).
2. Understand that textbook purchases now qualify as expenses under the program, but to get credit for them, you must save your receipts and keep a record of your qualified spending. The IRS has expanded the definition of qualified spending to include “expenditures for ‘course materials.’ For this purpose, the term ‘course materials’ means books, supplies, and equipment needed for a course of study whether or not the materials are purchased from the educational institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance.”
3. If you haven’t already started buying your books, do so now (and file your receipts in an organized fashion). The sooner you do, the greater your chances of getting cheaper used books and first dibs on rentals. Yes, a credit come tax time is great, but savings now is imperative.

The tax-code changes are great news and we hope that you and your families will take advantage of this wonderful way in which the government is alleviating some of the high costs of furthering one’s education.

–Lena