are educational seminar costs tax deductible
$250 reduction. Self-education expenses are broken into 5 categories. If all of your self-education expenses are 'category A' items then you have to reduce your deduction by $250. However category 'E expenses' can be used to offset the $250. Your excess meal expenses are $85 ($425 − $340) and your excess other expenses are $415 ($2,075 − $1,660). After you apply the 50% limit to your meals, you have a deduction for work-related education expenses of $458 (($85 × 50%) + $415). Tuition deduction. If your income is too high to qualify for the American Opportunity or Lifetime learning credit, you can deduct up to $4,000 of college tuition expenses paid for you, your spouse or a dependent. The deduction is available even if you do not itemize. Tax Forms. If you're self-employed, you write off continuing education expenses on Schedule C, like your other business expenses. If you're an employee, you write the expenses off by itemizing on Schedule A. Work expenses are a 2 percent deduction on Schedule A, along with tax-preparation costs and investment fees. You add all such deductions together, subtract 2 percent of your adjusted gross income and write off the rest. If you are a qualified performing artist, or a state (or local) government official who is paid in whole or in part on a fee basis, you can deduct the cost of your qualifying work-related education as an adjustment to gross income rather than as an itemized deduction. Standard mileage rate. Generally, if you claim a business deduction for work-related education and you drive your car to and from school, the amount you can deduct for miles driven from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2014, is 56 cents per mile. If you pay qualifying work-related education expenses with certain tax-free funds, you cannot claim a deduction for those amounts. You must reduce the qualifying expenses by the amount of such expenses allocable to the tax-free educational assistance. The tax law is filled with breaks to help taxpayers pay for education -- for your children, your grandchildren or even for yourself. After all, the lawmakers' thinking might go, the smarter and better trained a citizen is, the more likely he or she will make more money ... for the government to tax. Some travel for journeys cannot be claimed, but you may be able to offset the cost of these journeys against the $250 reduction. If an expense is partly for your self-education and partly for other purposes, you can only claim the amount that relates to your self-education as a deduction. You may be able to claim a deduction for self-education expenses if your study is work-related or if you receive a taxable bonded scholarship. In some circumstances you have to reduce the amount of your claim by $250. Follow the links below for more information about: 1  Eligible courses. 2  Expenses you can claim.
No