Tax Deductions for a Public Kindergarten Tuition
Young parents with children in kindergarten or who will soon have children in kindergarten might be thinking about how the transition to a public school will affect their taxes. There are many deductions parents can claim on their taxes related to raising children. In general, the tuition of a public kindergarten is not tax deductible, although there are some exceptions and other tax deductions that parents of kindergarten students should consider.
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Tuition
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In general, public school kindergarten is not tax deductible. According to the Internal Revenue Service website, the only tuition listed as tax deductible is tuition for higher education, such as college. Private school kindergarten tuition is also not tax deductible, according to the Tax Girl website. Public kindergarten tuition fees are typically lower than private school tuition, as some of your tax dollars are used to fund the public schools in your area.
Child Care
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Unlike tuition, child care costs are tax deductible. Therefore, fees for day care or preschool before your child attends kindergarten are tax deductible. Also, if you can determine a way to separate the school costs from the child care costs of your child's kindergarten tuition, then the child care costs are also tax deductible. For example, if your child attends kindergarten, and you pay extra for him to stay after school in a child care program, the fees or tuition from that child care program are tax deductible.
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Dependent Care Account
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According to Kiplinger, you can also save money on kindergarten tuition by paying it through a reimbursable dependent care account. Similar to health savings accounts, the government offers parents the ability to contribute a set amount of money each year into a dependent care account. The money is withdrawn from paychecks pre-tax, meaning you do not pay taxes on that money each check. The funds can only be used for dependent or child care expenses, and according to Kiplinger, kindergarten fees qualify.
Other Deductions
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Parents of kindergarten students can save money using a number of other tax deductions aside from tuition fees. According to Kiplinger, these options include an adoption credit if your kindergarten student is adopted, credit for each child you have under 17, child support payment deductions, deductions for contributions toward education savings accounts and various deductions for school supplies. Consult a tax specialist for details on how to claim these and other deductions or credits.
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References
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