Christian Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 A client called asking if a software program needed for taking a daughter's college course is deductible. Her daughter is in her junior year of a four year degree program. Why this software is not included in her college expenses is not clear to me but she advises it is needed for this course and is not provided by the school. I am wondering if this is a Schedule A deduction or can it be taken off elsewhere. This for me is one of those seldom encountered items since my clients are primarily older folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yardley CPA Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Just curious as to the cost of the software? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted July 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 She advises it will be around $100 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yardley CPA Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 By the letter of the law, I don't know if the program would qualify. Here's some information I found on qualified educational expenses from publication 970: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch06.html Included in this is: Related expenses. Student-activity fees and expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment are included in qualified education expenses only if the fees and expenses must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. $100 or so, while I'm not suggesting you should do anything unethical, I'm not even sure it would make a difference if you did include it. I personally would lean toward including it given the nominal amount you're talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack from Ohio Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 If it is a REQUIREMENT of one of the courses she is taking, it can be added as additional expense for calculating Education (American Opportunity Credit) expense deductions on 8863. Otherwise, no deduction. Must be REQUIRED, not just suggested. The information provided her for that class will tell whether it is required or just suggested.3 kids here, total of 11 years in college between them. I have very extensive first hand experience about this stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted July 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Thanks Jack. I'll put a note in her file. It's no biggy but every little bit helps, right? This is for 2014. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.