Which school expenses are tax deductible?

Question

My wife is going back to school for her M.B.A. Are any of the associated expenses deductible? I know tuition, but any others? Textbooks? New computer? Desk?

Answer 1

For the most part it is usually only tuition that is deductible. Supplies, fees, equipment, and books are deductible IF they are paid to the institution and cannot be purchased any where else. From what you said she could qualify for the lifetime learning credit. I am adding the IRS pub for this. Look at page 19.

Answer 2

Tuition and fees, yes, and certain related expenses. Related expenses include student activity fees and expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment only if the fees and expenses must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. This info is from IRS publication 17 and would be repeated in several other irs publications that you can download from irs.gov.

So yes, you can take the education credit for tuition and fees. Textbooks, probably not - buying them from the school bookstore doesn't count, they're only deductible if they're billed to her along with her tuition, and she has to buy them that way to take the course - at most schools, this isn't the case. The computer and desk would not be eligible expenses.

Answer 3

Yes, all of that is deductible. Keep track of receipts.