Is preschool tuition deductible?

[rjs]

You can claim preschool tuition as child care expense if you meet all the other requirements for the Child and Dependent Care Credit. Here's an FAQ about the Child and Dependent Care Credit.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/3301418

[Redsrock302]

What if you are filing Head of Household? Example: Divorced, 1 child age 4, child went to tuition based preschool and also was with in childcare while not in preschool. The childcare expenses are straight forward and have been accounted for on a tax form, but the school just provided a paper showing what was paid (non EIN/TIN#). So, can that be deducted, while filing HOH? I qualify based on the rules for the Child and Dependent Care Credit. 

[rjs]

@Redsrock302  You can claim the child and dependent care credit if you file as head of household, as long as you are not married. If you are divorced, you have not remarried, and you file as head of  household, you can claim the credit.

[causer]

Hi - I didn't enroll for Dependent Care FSA in 2019 but one my kids went to preschool (fee based) and other kid went to ESS (after school care). Can i claim amount paid when i file my taxes? My wife started working in June so if i can claim i should claim for 6 month only. Is that right?

Thanks

[Opus 17]

---

@causer wrote:

Hi - I didn't enroll for Dependent Care FSA in 2019 but one my kids went to preschool (fee based) and other kid went to ESS (after school care). Can i claim amount paid when i file my taxes? My wife started working in June so if i can claim i should claim for 6 month only. Is that right?

Thanks

---

You can claim eligible care expenses for your qualifying dependents for the Child and Dependent Care Credit.  Eligible expenses are 

• incurred for an qualifying person
• incurred so that you (and your spouse, if filing jointly) can both work, or look for work, or attend school full time.

You can't claim an expense that you already paid with an FSA, but you said that does not apply to you. 

If your spouse was job hunting before starting her job in June, those months of care (April? May?) would also be qualifying expenses.

Your children are qualifying persons if they are under age 13 on 12/31/2019, you claim them as dependents, and they lived in your home more than half the year.

Expenses under kindergarten (preschool tuition, day care, etc.) are always eligible even if the program is educational.  Tuition for kindergarten and up is not an eligible expense, but if you pay extra for before or after school care so that you and your spouse could work, those after school costs are eligible costs. 

[SusanY1]

Yes, you can enter these amounts in to determine if you can apply for the credit.  You are not limited to only the expenses paid for the six months that your wife was working, (although other factors on the return can sometimes limit the credit).  Here is how to enter the information into TurboTax:

1. Login to TurboTax.com
2. Click on Deductions and Credits.
3. Click on Review/Edit (for some users this may read Continue where you left off).
4. If you are just beginning your entries, click Yes, we did to the question Did you pay for child or dependent care? And TurboTax will prompt you for the information later in the interview.
5. If you have already made most of your entries, navigate to the section You and Your Family and click Show More. 
6. Click Start (or Revisit) beside Child and Dependent Care Credit.

@causer

[Opus 17]

---

@SusanY1 wrote:

Yes, you can enter these amounts in to determine if you can apply for the credit.  You are not limited to only the expenses paid for the six months that your wife was working, (although other factors on the return can sometimes limit the credit). 

---

Form 2441 does not ask specifically when an expense was incurred, but if audited, your expenses are only legally qualifying for the credit for periods of time when you and your spouse were both working or looking for work or full time students or disabled. 

[Angelicabreanne]

Question does virtual preschool count? My child is in online virtual preschool and has been all of the pandemic, we pay weekly it’s several hundred per month. It’s educational 5 days per week. Do virtual preschool expenses count? 

[DaveF1006]

Technically no. Typically, preschool expenses were only counted toward a child and dependent care credit and not a education credit or expense. Since at least if one or both parents were home while your child attended online preschool sessions, then you would not be eligible to claim the child and dependent care credit. However, you would have if you were able to physically take them to the preschool facility.

[Angelicabreanne]

So even if the parent works it doesn’t count toward the dependent care credit since it’s not in a physical building? That’s unfortunate because it’s just as expensive if not more than brick and mortar preschools in my area. 

[Opus 17]

---

@Angelicabreanne wrote:

So even if the parent works it doesn’t count toward the dependent care credit since it’s not in a physical building? That’s unfortunate because it’s just as expensive if not more than brick and mortar preschools in my area. 

---

The credit is for child care costs that you incur to pay for someone else to care for your child so you can work.  Not for tuition.  You can claim the credit for expenses paid in your home to care for your child in your home, even if you also work at home.  

However, the primary purpose must be care, not education.  This is what the IRS says.

Expenses are for the care of a qualifying person while you worked or looked for work only if their main purpose is for the person's well-being and protection. It doesn't include the cost of food, lodging, education, clothing, or entertainment...

You can include amounts paid for items other than the care of your child (such as food and schooling) only if the items are incidental to the care of the child and can't be separated from the total cost.

You defined this as preschool tuition in your home.  I've had experience with more than one pre-kindergartner, and I don't think you could convince the IRS that your virtual preschool was so immersive that it provided your child with physical protection and well-being to the extent that your child required no supervision from you so that you could go to a home office and work a job.