Is school tuition and books tax deductable for college?

Question

I am attending an online BSN program and was wondering if the money spent on this endeavor is tax deductable

Answer 1

Tuition and "qualified education expenses" are tax deductible, though there are some restrictions.

In general, you can deduct any tuition/fees that YOU paid (for yourself or someone else) to the school. You can only deduct the cost of books if you paid the money directly to the institution (i.e. if you bought your books at Barnes & Noble or eBay, you're out of luck). You can't deduct the cost of room & board.

You can deduct up to $4,000 in qualified expenses. However, you cannot claim any deduction IF
* your income is over $80,000/year ($160,000 if married filing jointly),
* your filing status is married filing separately; or
* you use those same expenses to qualify for the Hope Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit

Here's the IRS website's detailed discussion of the Tuition & Fees deduction: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch06.html

Don't forget to look into the following as well!
* Student Loan Interest Deduction
* Hope Credit
* Lifetime Learning Credit

Answer 2

It might be. To be sure, go to the person who manages your taxes. HR Block, and others should know. If not you could go to the IRS and find out there.