Tax Deduction for Private School - Questions from Readers
We sent our daughter to a private elementary school Is there anyway the tution we paid is tax deductible?
Dear Reader,
The short answer to your question is, "No." Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. But here's a little more information, just so you know.
Education Expenses are tax-deductible, but only for college tuition and fees. This would include community colleges, universities, trade or vocational schools, and other accredited education programs following high school. There are various tax breaks for education expenses, such as the tuition and fees deduction and the Lifetime Learning and Hope tax credits. But these tax breaks are not available for elementary and high school tuition.
Charitible Contributions are tax-deductible if you itemize your deductions on Schedule A. Charitable contributions is cash you gave to churchs, nonprofits, and other bona fide charities without getting anything in return. If you did get something in return, you must decrease the value of your gift by the value of the item or service received. For example, people often buy tickets to a charity ball, concert, or other event. If you gave $100 for a ticket to an event worth $25, then the real value of your donation is $75, not the full $100. You received something in exchange for your donation. You paid tuition, and in exchange your daughter received an education. This would not meet the definition of a charitable donation, and so you cannot deduct this on your Schedule A. This particular situation is mentioned by the IRS in Publication 526, in the section concerning Charitable Contributions From Which You Benefit.
I hope this clarifies matters for you.
Best wishes this filing season,
William Perez
What if I were to give the private school tuition to a student (not related to me) with special needs? Would that be tax deductable?
No. Gifts to specific individuals are never tax deductible.
Are there any investment options that WOULD be tax free for use in paying for private school? Thanks.
You can bet that the government will avoid allowing tax deductions for private school tuition since they are in direct competition with the public schools. Imagine the uproar if there was a tax break for taking your kids out of public schools!
Is it possible to deduct on taxes for tithing if it relates to private school? My daughter is going to a private catholic school next year that is paid for via tithing.
Four state within the union do permit private school tax deductions. For specifics see: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0754.htm
I heard through our Christian schools that they were considering a bill that you can get a credit for approx. $4,000 per year for private education. It was called the Teach Act of (year?). Do you know anything about it?
Thank you.
What about schools that are on the “needs improvement” list? I know that doesn’t sound like a valid reason to the government, but it should be revisited. Thanks for any information.
Can I deduct the entire amount of my tuition as a charitable contribution and claim as a benefit of that contribution the cost my municipality would charge me for a public education?
Jim, no you cannot. Tuition for private elementary and secondary schools are not eligible for any tax deduction whatsoever.
If the student is disabled and attending private school because the public system cannot provided, is there a deduction?
David, it may be possible to deduct a portion of the private school tuition as a medical expense. The relevant law here is Treasury Regulations section 1.213-1 (e)(1)(v)(a). [Here’s a link to the full text of this section.)
Here’s the relevant part of the law:
The IRS explains this deduction in Publication 502 in the section on special education.
what if we pay tuition for an employee’s children as part of her comp? Is this simply reported on W2 or can we deduct as a donation to the school?
Kelly, the payment would be part of the employee’s taxable wages. The corporation would not be able to deduct the expense as a charitable contribution. On the other hand, if the corporation were to donate equipment or money to the school (not allocated to a specific student), then it would be able to take a charitable deduction.
I have two of my children enrolled in private schools here in Arizona. There is several non profit organizations that helps me keep my children in private school by using the private school tax credit. One of the organizations I used is Arizona Scholarship Fund. Through them people I know can donate and recommend my children to be a recipient of those funds. They can donate up to $1000.00 (married filling joint returns), or $500.00 (single). The amount donated will be a dollar for dollar tax credit and it is used to reduce the state liability. After the money is donated to Arizona Scholarship Fund, they send those funds to cover my children’s tuition. I was very thankful to find this organization.
More information can be found at http://www.azscholarships.org
What states are the ones that let a person who puts there kids in a christian school, to use that as a tax right off?
Mike, see this link to information from the National Conference of State Legislatures:
School Choice Tax Credits and Deductions by State
My company pays a part of my children’s tuition to send them to a private school that they are loosely affiliated with, then deducts the taxes from my payroll. Does this affect the deductability of the tuition?
Hi, was just wondering how reliable is tax credit? Im a freshman this year and was wanting to go to a expensive bording christan school in Scottsdale Arizona for my sophmore year. But i can only go if i get like 13 people to do tax credit for me. Would that work if i really tried?
I have my son who is enrolled in a private school where daycare services are also provided. It is paid in his total tuition. Can I get part of his tuition tax deducted as this is partial daycare? If so, what documentation would I need?
Hi, my daughter attends Naples High School which is a Department of Defense School located in Naples, Italy. As a retired U.S. military citizen I am required to pay tution for her to attend this school. It is paid to the Department of Treasury. The cost is over 22,000 dollars for the year. Is there a tax deduction for this type of expense.
How come Obama’s claimed 47+ K for their daughters elementary school this year?
If the answer is NO, how is it that President Obama deducted $50,000.00 in tution for his daughters elementary school education. I would love to hear the answer to this because I need the same deduction.
I’ll be very interested in this answer as well. As far as I know, elementary school tuition is not deductible.
The private school my daughter attends has 2 payment rates. One is for students who attend one of the 6 Lutheran Churches in the ares and a higher on for the students that do not atten these churches. Can I deduct the difference between the two – we belong to a Baptist church not listed as one of the 6 churches? Thanks.
Obama took a deduction for the school tuition on his Illinois state tax return. A deduction or credit for private school tuition is found only in some states. There is no federal deduction or credit available for elementary and high school tuition.
Denise, no. You cannot take a charity deduction if you receive goods or services worth equal value in exchange for your payment or donation.
What if the school can determine what portion of your tuition is fully allocable to scholarship funds (granted on financial need only)? Can this be required as part of your tuition and deducted by those who paid it? Your child is not receiving a benefit.
I just enrolled my daughter in private pre-k. Public pre-k is not an option because my husband and I make too much money and, as it was explained to my by the school board, the public pre-k program is only available to low income families and children who are, to put it bluntly, not all that smart. So inorder for my child to go to pre-k, I have to send her to a private school. Would her tuition be tax deductable since public pre-k is not available to me?
Shawna, private school is not deductible for federal tax purposes — unless it’s for postsecondary education. Various states, however, provide a deduction or tax credit for private elementary and secondary education. So check with your state tax agency.
Jennifer, there’s only two instances I can think of when private elementary or secondary tuition might possibly be deductible: if it’s special education and part of the costs are directly related to special medical care provided, or if it’s an after-school type program, and the costs are deducted for the dependent care credit. Otherwise, no, private elementary and secondary school are not deductible for federal purposes, although some states do provide a credit or deduction for this.
If a private school is looking to institute a new policy where parents can pay a fee to “hold a space” for a child, would this fee be tax deductible? This fee would be nonrefundable, and would not be applied for any tuition purposes.
Example: Parents have a 2 year old child who they want to enroll in private elementary upon the commencement of kindergarden (5 yrs old). If the parents pay $2,500 (figure made up by me) to reserve a spot for their child when he turns 5, would this be tax deductible? This $2,500 would not be used for tuition purposes and would not be refundable.
My initial thinking is that the amount would not be tax deductible, since it is related to a future service. But I am also aware that if it is worded properly, a case could be made to make this tax deductible.
If you can provide a quick response, it would greatly be appreciated. On a side note, this is for a private school in Fairfax, Virginia. Not sure if the State might have special rules.
Mulham, one of the basic rules for the charity deduction is that you are giving something to the charity without receiving anything is return. If you get something in exchange for your donation, you have to reduce your deduction by the value of the received property. So in your case, you are getting a reserved spot in the school in exchange for your payment.
I notice the IRS allows individuals and couples to make gifts which I understand reduces their tax burden. The limit for couples is $26,000 per year (after Jan. 1, 2009) before they must pay the gift tax. Let us assume the cost of a private school is $15,000. If the school’s parents “gift” this same amount of money to their children or even to another family’s children, they would save in cash the amount of tax they normally would have to pay to the IRS on that $15,000. If they are in, for example, the 28% tax bracket, that represents a tax savings of $4,200 they would normally have to pay on that same amount of income. Saving $4,200 effectively reduces each parent’s tuition burden, in our example to $11,800 ($15,000-$4,200). The school still receives the same amount of money per year. Is there any prohibition for every set of parents “gifting” their tuition money to eachother so that everyone can save money on their income tax and thereby effectively reduce their private school tuition costs? Is there a flaw in this logic?
Mike, the only problem with that strategy is you cannot take a tax deduct for gifts to individual people. You can only deduct gifts to charitable organizations. As for the gift tax rules, parents can give an unlimited amount if it’s for their child’s education or medical expenses.
We live in a small town and I teach in the public school district 30 miles away and am not able to leave my child at school in that town due to different school hours and lack of child care. If I have to bring my elementary school age child with me to the city is there any exemptions for putting him in a private school in the city where I teach rather than the public school? Any thing that would get any type tax deduction. Some type of hardship qualification like the one for drivers license, for example.
My question is similar to #20 Cherryl’s:
My 4-yr old son attends Pre-K in a private school, i.e. he is there for daycare also. Can I still deduct the schoool fees as with daycare expenses when I file my taxes?
Hi –
Belive it or not, my daughers Private school has additional fees not covered under the tuition including:
Child care fees $200 (after care)
Student Activity fee $125
Monthly payment fees $200 (yes, I have to pay a fee to pay monthly)
Parent Guild fee – $125
Capital Campaign – $1000
Are any of these expenses deductible? Thanks!
My daughter is still in high school (i.e…has no diploma or GED yet), but is taking classes at a local university as well. Can I take a tax deduction for that tuition?
My daughter attends public middle school, but the school has gone to mandatory school uniforms. Uniforms are not a valid reason for transfer, can I deduct the cost of the uniforms?