I am a married woman with an 8 year old in private school. Can I write off her tuition?

Question

I work trade shows and other events. I have travel expenses which I know I can write off,plus,make up,hair care,clothing,but how can I write off internet,cell phone,and other things that I use to get my jobs and DO my jobs? There is no way for me to tally up what was a business call and what was personal.....nor can I determine how many hours I was working on the computer and how many I was.....ummm on here (0; I also want to know if I can write off my daughters school tuition? Also, what is this new tax credit related to home phone service? I also heard that it is about $60.00 return but this is the last year you can get this. We also own a home and any insight on what we can write off on that would be much appreciated!! Are there any secrets for people like myself that are self contracted workers? Ok, one more thing.....since I am writing a lot of things off and I make less that 50k can I do my taxes 4 free online @ the IRS website? If so, how do I do that?

I was told all my personal care items ARE deductable since I have to wear certain style business suits and attire for some events and I also HAVE to look a certain way and ,makeup,hair upkeep, and nails and part of my job descriptions. Is this not correct? If so I have about 50 ladies that are breaking the law. They even deduct boob jobs and gym memberships.

Can I efile even if I have paper receipts and numerous deductions? I did make less than 52k

Answer 1

Makeup, Haircare,are not deductible on the Federal Tax return. Those are considered personal care items
Clothing is only if it is for a Uniform that you are required to wear and it can not be worn as every day clothing.

Internet and and cell phone only the portion in relation to your job

Daughters Tuition, NO, only Post secondary educational expenses (colleges, university) are deductible

The Telephone Excise Tax credit is a one time credit with a maximum deduction of 60.00 based on the number of exemptions claimed on your return.

Mortgage Interest on your home is deductible if you are Itemizing your deductions rather than taking the Standard deduction for your filing status.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=164032,00.html
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p936/index.html
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p529/index.html
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p17/ch26.html
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/index.html

Answer 2

It sounds like, per your additional info, that you probably do have 50 ladies who are breaking the law. Travel expenses to events, yes, that's legit. But clothing isn't unless it's not suitable for wear outside of the job - uniforms count, but business suits, no, even though they are required for your job.

Internet, cell phone - if you can't split them out, then you can't deduct them.

And for your original question about your daughter's tuition, no, expenses to attend K-12 are NOT deductible.

The telephone credit - yes, you can take that one. It's $60 for a household of four or more people, $50 for three, $40 for two and $30 for one. It's available this year only. You claim it by entering the appropriate number on the line in the PAYMENTS section of whatever version of 1040 you file, where it says telephone excise tax refund.

For the home that you own, you can deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes if you itemize.

Answer 3

You cannot deduct your daughter's tuition. Private primary and secondary school tuition is never deductible.

Although business expenses that are unreimbursed by your employer can be deductible, your clothing, makeup, hair care and such costs are NOT deductible. Even if it is a requirement of your job to present a certain professional image those items are personal expenses and are NOT deductible. Travel and hotel costs ARE deductible.

You might be able to take a deduction for a home office if you maintain it for the convenience of your employer and use the area set aside EXCLUSIVELY for business purposes. Any personal use, even if only on rare occasions, disqualifies the deduction. For phone service, I strongly recommend a second line for exclusive business use since it is 100% deductible if you are eligible for the home office deduction. You must use your service at least 50% for business use to get any deduction for phone, internet, etc do dedicated lines make sense.

Claim unreimbursed business expenses on Form 2106. They are subject to a 2% AGI limitation.

Home mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible. There is no AGI limitation for them.

You must itemize to taken any of the above deductions.

If you are self-employed, you must file Schedule C or C-EZ with your return to account for your income and business expenses. If you have more than $400 in self-employment income, you must also file Schedule SE to calculate the self-employment tax which is levied at 15.3% of your net business profits.

The phone excise tax rebate is a one-time item for tax year 2006. If you had phone service that included long distance service either bundled with the service or paid for separately between March2003 and July 2006, you may take the credit. You can either take a standard credit that varies from $30 to $60 or you can itemize the actual phone exise taxes paid if you have records of the actual tax you paid over that period. The standard credit is based upon the number of exemptions on your tax return -- from $30 for a single exemption to $60 for for or more exemption.

If you earned less than $52k, you may be able to e-file your Federal return for free. Go to the IRS website and click on the Free E-File link on the left side of the homepage.

Addendum: Then there are 50 people who are breaking the law. Boob jobs are only deductible to correct a physical defect from a birth defect, disease, or injury. Reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy IS deductible. Dissatisfaction with what nature gave you is not. Reduction mammoplasty surgery MAY be deductible if your size causes physical problems.

The personal appearance items are NOT legally deductible. If you work construction and have to purchase steel-toed shoes and hard hats or if you are in the medical field and have to purchase your own scrubs, those are deductible. Ordinary street clothing, even if it's not the type of thing you'd wear when you're not working, is NEVER deductible.

Gym and health club memberships are never deductible. Even people who must maintain a high level of physical fitness such as police, firefighters and military can't deduct them. You can't deduct them even if prescribed by a doctor.

Answer 4

I'll try to answer all your questions. You'd be in a real fuzzy grey area if you tried to write off your internet, cell phone and other stuff that you use for PERSONAL reasons as well as your job. That's why a lot of people have a cell phone JUST for business. That can be written off as long as you're not reimbursed for it.

You cannot write off your daughter's tuition.

The home phone service depends on the number of exemptions you have on your return. It can be anywhere from $30-60. This is the first, last, and only year that you can get this.