|
Tax Deduction |
|
|
Qualified
School Employees need to save their receipts for purchases of books
and classroom supplies due to a change in federal tax law.
Under the change, eligible educators can deduct up to $250 in
qualified expenses paid or incurred in tax years 2002 or 2003.
Eligible educators include teachers, instructors, counselors,
principals or aides in both public and private schools in grades K-12 who
have worked at least 900 hours in elementary or secondary education during
the school year. The unreimbursed
expenses must have been paid or incurred for books, supplies, computer
equipment (including related software and services), other equipment and
supplementary materials used in the classroom.
The deduction is allowed even if the educator does not itemize
deductions on Schedule A. Previously,
these expenses were deductible only as a miscellaneous itemized deduction
subject to the 2% of adjusted gross income limit. Educators who excluded
education savings bond interest or payments from qualified tuition
programs, or made tax-free withdrawals from an education savings account,
will be able to claim the new deduction only to the extent that their
qualified expenses exceed the tax-free amounts. The details below are from IRS Publication 3991, “Highlights of the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002,” available on the IRS web site at www.irs.gov or by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676) or downloadable as a .pdf file from the IRS site. Deduction
for Educator Expenses If you are an eligible educator, you can deduct as an adjustment to income up to $250 in qualified expenses. You can deduct these expenses even if you do not itemize deductions on Schedule A (Form 1040). This adjustment to income is for expenses paid or incurred in tax years beginning during 2002 or 2003. Previously, these expenses were deductible only as a miscellaneous itemized deduc- tion subject to the 2% of adjusted gross income limit. Eligible
educator. You are an eligible educator if, for the tax year, you meet
the following requirements. 1)
You are a kindergarten through grade 12: a)
Teacher, b)
Instructor, c)
Counselor, d)
Principal, or e) Aide. 2) You work at least 900 hours during a school year in a school that provides elementary or secondary education, as determined under state law. Qualified
expenses. These are unreimbursed expenses you paid or incurred for
books, supplies, computer equipment (including related software and
services), other equipment, and supplementary materials that you use in the
classroom. For courses in health and physical education, expenses for
supplies are qualified expenses only if they are related to athletics. To be
deductible as an adjustment to income, the qualified expenses must be more
than the following amounts for
|
