My son is going to school for Heavy Equipment they were required to buy a list of tools are we able to write that off?

[DianeW777]

It depends, if you are taking the education credit any supplies required for enrollment in the class could be included as part of the education expenses.  For the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) they can be purchased outside the educational institution or some place else.  For the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) they must be paid to the institution offering the class.

Expenses that qualify for an education credit (whether the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) or the Lifetime Learning Credit) are qualified tuition and related expenses paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year. 

Qualified tuition and related expenses are tuition and fees required for the enrollment or attendance of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or any dependent of the taxpayer at an eligible educational institution for courses of instruction. 

For the AOTC, the expenses must be paid in a program to acquire a postsecondary degree and may include required course materials. For the Lifetime Learning Credit, the expenses must be paid in a program to acquire a postsecondary degree or to acquire or improve job skills.   

For the AOTC provisions, student activity fees are included in qualified education expenses only if the fees must be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. Expenses for books, supplies, and equipment that are required course materials are included in qualified education expenses whether or not the materials are purchased from the educational institution.

For the Lifetime Learning Credit, student activity fees and expenses for course-related books, supplies and equipment are included in qualified education expenses only if the fees and expenses must be paid to the institution for enrollment or attendance by an individual.

• IRS FAQs Education

[Hal_Al]

Q. My son is going to school for Heavy Equipment they were required to buy a list of tools are we able to write that off?

A. Simple answer: Yes.

If the school is an eligible institution* for the federal education credits, the tools would qualify as "course materials" and be a qualified expense for calculating the education credit, if he is otherwise eligible. 

There is no actual write off (deduction), per se. The expense is added to tuition cost in calculating the credit. It only takes $4000 of tuition and other expenses to get the maximum credit. So, the additional expenses may or may not help.

If the student is your dependent, you claim the tuition/education  credit, rather than him. 

* To be eligible for the tuition credits, the course must be taken at "an eligible institution". The school should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution. In general, an eligible educational institution is an accredited college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution, including accredited, public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately-owned, profit-making) postsecondary institutions. Additionally, in order to be an eligible educational institution, the school must be eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the Department of Education. If they issue a 1098-T they are probably an eligible institution.

Enter your school at the link below, to see if it's on the dept. of education list.

https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home