is my certification course an education credit or deduction?

[lnparisi]

I currently work at a private Montessori school as a substitute and a after school care provider.  At the this past October I began taking from a online Montessori certification course so I could possibly be a full time teacher at the school. The school I am taking is headquartered in Canada and does not proved any tax forms. My question is whether I can deduct or get any sort of credit for my tuition?

[VictoriaD75 · Accepted solution]

It is not likely that the certification course would be deductible if it was taken from the Montessori school itself. Education expense deductions are available if certain conditions apply. If you are only taking one course toward a certification, you would not qualify for the American Opportunity Credit. However, the Lifetime Learning Credit may be taken only if the following criteria are met:

• You must be enrolled at an eligible education institute. "An eligible educational institution is any college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. The educational institution should be able to tell you if it is an eligible educational institution. Certain educational institutions located outside the United States also participate in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs."
• The course must be either part of a post-secondary degree program or taken by the student to acquire or improve job skills.

Lifetime Learning Credit

[lnparisi]

Thank you for your reply. I didn't think I would be able to deduct this course but figured it was worth asking anyways.

I have another question though can the supplies bought for the after school program or the classes I substituted for count as a unreimbursed educator expense?

[AnnetteB6]

From TurboTax Help content:  If you are a teacher, instructor, counselor, aide, or principal that works at least 900 hours in a school that provides K–12 education, you can deduct up to $250 in unreimbursed expenses for books, supplies, and equipment used in the classroom.  

Assuming you meet the qualifications shown above, then you would enter your expenses by following these steps:

• On the top row of the TurboTax online screen, click on Search (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax locate the search box in the upper right corner)
• This opens a box where you can type in “educator expenses deduction” (be sure to enter exactly as shown here) and click the magnifying glass (or for CD/downloaded TurboTax, click Find)
• The search results will give you an option to “Jump to educator expenses deduction”
• Click on the blue “Jump to educator expenses deduction” link and enter your information