I bought a laptop for college and have been using it strictly for college, along with paying 300$ a month in college payments. Please tell me if I attended school this year that it's tax deductible?
It would be nice to hear since becoming a college student has become very taxing on my pocket.
2006-09-22 03:11:43 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Taxes ➔ United States
The laptop is not deductible, but you can deduct the payments for your tuition. For more detailed information about your tuition and school expense deduction visit:
Education Credits:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=121452,00.html
Tuition and Fees deduction:
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc457.html
2006-09-22 03:56:29 · answer #1 · answered by J L 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What school are you going to? If the school/college accepts Federal Pell Grant awards then tuition may be taxdeductible by you or a parent if you are their dependent or qualify for the Hope Credit (first 2 years of college) or Lifetime Credits.
If the school does qualified to accept the awards then NO DEDUCTION, this applies to "John's School of Impersonaltions" The school has to be accredited.
Laptop could be tax dedutible if it is required by the school Talk to your school, may of the colleges now require student to purchase a computer from them. The deduction would not be on your return but on your parent(s) return. You would not be able to take the deduction if you are a full time student under the age of 24.
More likely then not, your tuition will exceed the amounts allowed as deductible and the laptop will never even come into play.
Tuition paid is defined as cash paid and amounts financed by parents and students. It does not include scholarships nor financial aids.
2006-09-24 12:03:35 · answer #2 · answered by dillon Y 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Second answerer is right. The laptop is not deductible, unless the school, *Requires* you to have one. This is very rare, and you have to have good documentation to prove it if you were audited for some reason. The payments you are making to the school is however deductible, and you can either subtract it from you Income via line 34 on your 1040, or you can take one of the two education credits via Form 8863. If you did not pay close to $3000 dollars, I would not suggest taking the Hope credit, as you can only use it twice. You can however take the Lifetime Learning credit if it is more beneficial than using line 34.
2006-09-22 11:02:42 · answer #3 · answered by johngrobmyer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
johngrobmyer is right for IRS. I live in MN and up to $200 for the laptop can be deductable on the state income tax - for the parents. Maybe other states allow something too. I know its a long shot that you are from MN, but here is a link that addresses MN's treatment of education expenses. http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/individ/credits_subtractions_additions/education_credits_subtractions/educ_credit_sub.shtml
2006-09-22 12:29:25 · answer #4 · answered by curious george 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This changes so much your best bet is ask the pro's when you go to do your taxes. Be sure to have all the receipts or you may lose out.
2006-09-22 13:03:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, neither is deductible. Tuition is deductible only if it's ordinary and necessary for the job you currently have.
2006-09-22 10:25:39 · answer #6 · answered by Oh Boy! 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Yes, go to:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/students/index.html
2006-09-22 13:30:20 · answer #7 · answered by littlebettycrocker 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋