ALBANY — A little-known tuition tax break due to expire this month has been renewed for middle-class families nationwide and will provide as much as $2,500 a year in tuition relief through 2012, Sen. Charles Schumer said yesterday.

The measure takes $1 off a taxpayer’s federal bill for every $1 spent on college tuition, the New York Democrat said. Just 43 percent of eligible families took advantage of it last year.

But families that didn’t seek the break can still amend old tax returns, dating back three years, to claim the credit. The tax break can be found in federal tax returns, he said.

Schumer sponsored the bill. The renewal of the program, which costs $18 billion over two years, passed the Senate on Wednesday, days before it was to expire. Of that total, $2 billion is budgeted for New York.

Higher education costs have risen at many times the inflation rate in recent years.

“A college education is a necessity that is priced as a luxury,” Schumer told reporters. “It’s breaking the bank of too many New Yorkers.”