During this time of the War on Terror, the United States Government has made is easier on those in the military in some way. There are educational tax deductions that military families can qualify for that can assist in getting a higher education for families with dependants or Servicemembers in school. One thing that many people fail to do is to investigate the way that attending college affects their tax burden. Often there are elements of going to college that are tax deductible. If you pay tuition and fees, you may be able to claim up to $4,000 dollars in deductions off of your taxes.
It can be difficult to make everything fit together, serving on Active Duty, attending or planning for college, and finding a way to make it all happen financially. Congress has allowed for the deduction because they realize the challenge of trying to get an education and they agree that there needs to be a degree of tax relief for those who are trying to go to school.
This amount is very helpful, and can be available even in some cases for those people who do not itemize their deductions. In addition to a tax deduction, there are a couple of other elements that affect your taxes. These two items are the Hope Learning Deduction and the Lifetime Learning Credit. Even if you do not qualify for the Hope Learning deduction, or the Lifetime Learning credit, it is likely that you will qualify for the $4,000 education tax deduction.
Both of them can affect your tax liability, so it?s important to investigate and find out which deductions of these that you qualify for. Serving in the Military is a challenge, and balancing your expenses while trying to go to school at the same time is also a challenge. If you are currently on Active Duty, and attending college, or on active duty and a member of your family is attending college then you may be able to claim a pretty healthy tax deduction for education expenses.
If these basic conditions are true then you are likely can claim the deduction: The eligible student is yourself, a dependent or your spouse, you pay expenses for an eligible student attending college, and these expenses are paid at an institution of higher learning, such as an accredited college or university, and you claim this person on your taxes.
If any of these conditions apply to you then you will be disqualified from taking the deduction:
-Someone else claims you as a deduction on their taxes.
-You earn more adjusted income than $80,000 dollars.
-You file separately as a married person.