My wife is in college finishing her teaching degree. She had to take several paid exams required as part of her courses. We paid out of pocket. Are these deductible?

livingfora1up · ‎June 6, 2019

Vanessa · ‎June 6, 2019

Under current laws there is not a deduction for these fees, however, if the exam fees are required by the course as part of the degree then it can be included as an education expense when calculating the American Opportunity Tax Credit whether or not they were paid directly to the school. For the Lifetime Learning Credit, they would have to be paid directly to the school.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

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Vanessa · ‎June 6, 2019

Under current laws there is not a deduction for these fees, however, if the exam fees are required by the course as part of the degree then it can be included as an education expense when calculating the American Opportunity Tax Credit whether or not they were paid directly to the school. For the Lifetime Learning Credit, they would have to be paid directly to the school.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf

**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"

livingfora1up · ‎June 6, 2019

Wonderful! It currently (without the exam costs) shows that the AOTC is the better option for us. Do you know where in TurboTax I can enter the exam costs specifically to the AOTC?

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My wife is in college finishing her teaching degree. She had to take several paid exams required as part of her courses. We paid out of pocket. Are these deductible?