Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

ERRATA! in last sentence above substitute "..then I could NOT
deduct...."

C$,
HL

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Apd8x wrote:

- quote -

In which case you screwed up. The Hope credit is
applicable ONLy to the first two years of college, i.e.
freshman and sophomore years.

- quote -

You could however have used either the lifetime learning
credit (20%) or he above the line deduction on page one for
tuition.

And if the courses are appropriate and helpful in your
present line of work (as my finance courses were in the MBA
program) then any added costs for books, etc, would be a
miscellaneous deduction on schedule a. But of course back
then I could deduct those on page one of 1040! How times
change!

Cheer$$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Apd8x at do_anne[at]gwu.edu wrote:

- quote -

First of all, you only get to take one or the other, not
both.

- quote -

Only if it is required to maintain the qualifications of
your profession. Teachers who are already certified and
accredited to teach can get away with almost anything but
most of the rest of us can't. If the education qualifies
you for a new trade or business, it is not deductible.

- quote -

Is it required to keep your current job or does it qualify
you for a better job? If it is REQUIRED to keep your
current job, it is probably deductible.

- quote -

If it is deductible, which it sounds like it isn't, you
can't claim the part used to justify the Hope credit. You
could use the rest.

- quote -

Yes, if you meet the maintain or improve current skills test.

All freely provided advice guarantee correct or double your
money back

Frank S. Duke, Jr. CPA
Cincinnati, OH USA

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do_anne[at]gwu.edu (Apd8x) wrote:

- quote -

First of all, you are not eligible for the Hope Credit.
This credit is only for Freshman and Sophomore undergrads.

If you are eligible for the Lifetime Learning Credit, it's
20% of your tuition, not to exceed $2000.

Are you married and filing a joint return? If not, it
doesn't sound like you are eligible for either credit. You
cannot take an education credit if your (modified) adjusted
gross income is $51,000 or more ($103,000 if you file a
joint return). ("Modified" means you add in some excluded
types of income that you probably don't have.)

From the information you've given, I doubt that Turbotax put
a Hope Credit on your return. Look at your actual return as
it printed out, or electonic copy, and see what's actually
on there.

If you don't claim a credit you may still be able to claim
the $3000 Tuition and Fees Deduction on page 1 of Form 1040
(which I suspect is what Turbotax would've done if your MAGI
excludes you from claiming a credit). The MAGI limit for
this one is $65,000 if single and $130,000 if Married Filing
Joint.

Or if the education is to improve or maintain the skills
used in your current work, and doesn't qualify you for a new
line of work, you can deduct it on Schedule A subject to a
trimming of 2% of your gross income.

Or I think you can deduct the $3,000 on the 1040 and then
deduct the remainder on Schedule A.

But you cannot take both a credit and a deduction.

Next time you do your own taxes, try reading the instructions.

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You can NEVER double-dip. However, a deduction that gets
used as a Federal credit might still be used as a state
deduction. Check into it. Also, an education deduction, on
Sched A, has to beat the 2% barrier so you might not have
gotten anywhere with it anyway.

Nan, EA in LA

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Apd8x wrote:

- quote -

1. There is no $3000 education credit. 2 You are not
eligible for the Hope Scholarship Credit as you are no
longer an undergraduate freshman or sophomore. 3. The
Lifetime Learning Credit is a maximum of 20% of qualified
expenses up to a maximum credit of $2000 assuming your AGI
is not too high. 4. Instead of the credit, you may be able
to deduct up to a maximum of $3000 as an adjustment to Gross
Income, again assuming your AGI is not too high.

- quote -

You can not deduct work related education expense if you
elected to use those same expenses for another tax benefit
such as the education credit, tuition & fees deduction, etc.

--
Alan
http://taxtopics.net

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I qualified for the $3000 Hope Lifetime Learning Education
Credit because I am attending grad school part-time (I work
full time) which costs approximately $4000 per semester.

Can I also claim the tuition as a business expense? My
salary is in 2003 was above 60K. The degree I am working
towards is used to specifically better my career as it
relates to the work I do. When I used the 2003 Turbo Tax
Software there was a disclaimer that said I can't claim the
tuition as a business expense if I have already qualified
for an education credit. In my case it was the Hope Credit.

I didn't include this deduction on my taxes because I was
unsure and afraid I would be double counting my tuition
deductions. Can someone clarify if I could have added the
tuition as a work-related expense (tuition, books, etcs)?

Thanks,
Anne

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