Private School tuition deductible???

[taxguy057]

Got a client that pays for their daughter's private middle school. She's 13 years old. Is there anyway to deduct those expenses on federal return?

[Janitor Bob]

Got a client that pays for their daughter's private middle school. She's 13 years old. Is there anyway to deduct those expenses on federal return?

no

[Jack from Ohio]

I agree with Janitor Bob.

[Nighthawk]

Nice short answer Janitor Bob and absolutely correct. Have another banana.

If someone came to me, I would suggest that if the client was to cut some tuition costs hopefully there might be a nice grandpa or grandma related since I know quite a few who do that.

[mcb39]

Have been asked this question many times over they years. The answer is Absolutely NOT. It has to be a post-secondard accredited education institution. Have even had people tell me that some preparers will deduct tuition paid to parochial schools as a charitable donation. WRONG!

[neilbrink]

Even though it is not deductible as a federal tax deduction, you may want to check to see if your state allows it for a tax deduction or tax credit.

[Gail in Virginia]

Also, it is probably too late to make much difference with this child, but a Coverdell Education IRA can be set up, and I believe the proceeds from that can be used tax-free for any education expenses. However, the only tax break is on the earnings - contributions are not deductible. Therefore, unless it has had time to grow substantially, it really doesn't help much.

[jainen]

>>Is there anyway to deduct those expenses on federal return?<<

No direct deduction, but there ARE some tax benefits available. First of all, it counts towards support where that is an issue for dependency, which opens the door for child credit, medical expenses, etc. Income used for tuition is tax free if it comes from an educational plan. I never heard of a private school that didn't structure much of its cost as charitable donations. If you think about it, there are some tax planning opportunities. That word "absolutely" doesn't work very well on a tax forum.

[Nighthawk]

Got a client that pays for their daughter's private middle school. She's 13 years old. Is there anyway to deduct those expenses on federal return?

For the above question I still stand by my answer of absolutely not.

If someone came into our office to do their taxes right now that would be my answer.

My second question would be to ask if they had a charitable signed form for contributions. This is not a deduction for tuition, but is a donation.

If not, I would ask them if they wanted to pursue getting one. If yes, then I would hold up preparation till they could check this out. If they didn't want to pursue this direction, my answer is the same. Then I would discuss future planning what their options could be for next year.

Yes, some schools say the tuition is this amount, but you have to maintain donations for this amount or your tuition will be this. Then again, the donations are classified as charitable donations which the taxpayer would receive a statement for at year end. Yes, the school could get in trouble for this, but the person paying tuition will accept the terms to have some type of write off.

Yes, it would be a better world if they would call during the year (before tax season) for questions relating to taxes. We offer free phone calls during the year so we have an open door policy with our clients. 99% of the time if we have to draw up a simple letter during the year we also do those free.