Tax breaks, credits, and rules for students, parents, and educators — everything about taxes and paying for school.
Taxpayer asks: Most of what I read says that kindergarten tuition cannot be used in figuring the Child Care Tax Credit. However, that said, I thought that if a person resides in a state that does not have mandatory attendance in kindergarten, the tuition can be used to figure the Child Tax Credit. Kindergarten is…
(Note: Updated to reflect Department of Education comments.) As anger continues to grow over delays with processing the federal form 8863, Education Credits, I reached out to the Internal Revenue Service, H&R Block, and the Department of Education to answer your questions. IRS spokesperson Michelle Eldridge offered the following statement about the delays: The IRS…
Taxpayer asks: I called the IRS they couldn’t help me and told me to call our local office since they do not know our state laws. I did. They couldn’t give me live help on the phone unless I was a business and to have my SS number ready.TurboTax gave me a “I think so”…
Tax season is proving to be a major headache for taxpayers this season. And it looks like it’s not about to get better for hundreds of thousands of taxpayers who claimed the American Opportunity Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit on their personal income tax returns. To claim the credit, taxpayers must file a federal…
F is for Fellowships and Scholarships. More and more students are relying on fellowships and scholarships to help defray the cost of a college education these days. For tax purposes, a fellowship is an amount paid to or on behalf of a student for research purposes. A scholarship is an amount paid to or on…
When the Internal Revenue Service finally announced that it was accepting federal form 8863, Education Credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Credits (downloads as a pdf), taxpayers heaved a sigh of relief. With a delayed tax season already in play, the additional two weeks pushed filing dates out more than three weeks for up to…
E is for Educational Assistance. In this job market, every advantage helps. And arguably, that advantage could be a college or other degree (though it’s worth noting that I don’t believe in going to school just because you don’t know what else to do). To help defray the cost of education – and perhaps make…
On March 7, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, students, parents, labor allies, and community leaders will rally at the School District of Philadelphia to protest planned cuts to teacher contracts in the City. The proposal includes pay cuts of up to 13%, longer workdays, and no limits on class sizes. Additionally, under the plan, the…
With just a few days left before tax season officially opens on January 30, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that there will be a slight delay in processing individual tax returns claiming education credits. Those returns will begin to be processed by the middle of February. Specifically, those taxpayers who are affected are those…
Americans now owe an astonishing $956 billion in student loan debt. The rate of student loan debt outpaced inflation last year – and keeps climbing. I should know: I am one of those still working to pay off student loan debt. I borrowed to pay for my education because I couldn’t afford to go otherwise….