Education, Deductions, and Credits

Last week I wrote about how even parts of the government have trouble navigating tax rules correctly. A big conclusion there is how beneficial it can be to enlist the help of an expert who knows the rules and can help you use them to your best advantage. So granted, I was already thinking along those lines, but the IRS released a couple of tax tips that drove this home.

I hope that you have been able to enjoy the current summer season, but July is coming to an end, and it will only be a matter of time before it is time for many to go back to school. Do you know that this can have tax ramifications? See, it pays to have people who know these things so you do not have to guess.

Those tips the IRS released have to do with school and this time of year. The first is a pretty simple deduction where eligible teachers and administrators can deduct part of the cost of supplies used in the classroom for which they were not reimbursed. Granted, this is not a huge deduction and caps out at $250. At the same time, though, I do not know of any teachers who ever end up not spending that much money on their classrooms out of their pockets, so it ends up becoming a deduction all of them qualify for. You just need to know that it exists and to retain the receipts that prove that spending.

The second release involves tax credits that one can qualify for when it comes to higher education. Higher education can include anything from trade school or community college to four-year universities or advanced degrees. I do not have the room to go into the basics of everything involved here but know that it even includes a partially refundable credit, meaning you could actually get some money paid directly to you when you file your taxes.

These notices are coming out now because of how applicable they are to the where the calendar currently sits. This means they are not the only ones out there. This also means if you are not currently using a professional tax preparer, you are likely eligible for some deduction or credit of which you are unaware. And there is little more rewarding in our work than when we can show people that they are in a better position than they realize. So if you want to reach that position, please do not hesitate to reach out.

​Warmly,

Josh Bousquet
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