topic Can I deduct transfer fees for sending children to public elementary school in a different district? in Education

Can I deduct transfer fees for sending children to public elementary school in a different district?

Jon4200 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 05:31:46 GMT

Our 2 children (age 9 and 10) go to school in a different district by choice. Each year we pay around $2500 as a required fee. I believe the claim is that it's the tax portion we don't pay directly to the county since we don't live in the same district. Since we don't get any money back from our own county taxes for children not going to school here, can these transfer fees be listed as educational expense deductible items?

Re: Can I deduct transfer fees for sending children to public elementary school in a different di...

JillS56 — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 01:24:11 GMT

No, the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t allow you to deduct private school tuition (which transfer fees would be considered a part of the educational expense) to lower your federal tax liability. However, in some states, like Arizona, you can claim private school tuition to help reduce the amount of state tax you’ll owe.

There is one exception to this rule, if your child is attending private school for special needs, you may be able to get a tax break on your K-12 private school tuition. To qualify, you’ll need a physician’s referral proving that your child requires access to specialized private education. And, if your child qualifies, you may also be able to deduct the cost of special tutoring or training in addition to tuition. To claim this deduction,

you must itemize rather than choosing the standard deduction.
The expenses would need to qualify as deductible medical expenses that are reduced by 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) for 2020 and 2021.

Tax Tips Sending Kids to Private School

Re: Can I deduct transfer fees for sending children to public elementary school in a different di...

Jon4200 — Sun, 20 Feb 2022 01:32:10 GMT

Thank you for the quick reply Jill. I don't think any of the scenarios you described apply to us so we will just leave it off our return. I may research it a little more at the state level (we're in NC) but for now I'll just file without it.