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I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

 
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Accepted Solutions
KeshaH
Employee Tax Expert

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

Your deduction is being limited to $300 because one of you received non-taxable qualified tuition program distributions.

 

Your educator expenses are deductible only to the extent that they exceed:

- nontaxable interest on series EE or I US savings bonds

- tax-free withdrawals from a Coverdell savings account

- tax-free reimbursements of expenses

- nontaxable distribution from a qualified state tuition program

 

Because the limit is $300, it's common to just enter the $300 in these fields - however you will want to enter the amount you actually paid so that the deductible amount can be calculated.

 

To fix this, go back to the screen where you entered the educator expenses and adjust the amount to the actual amount spent.

 

For more information on the educator expense deduction and its limitations, please read IRS Topic no 458, Educator expense deduction.

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7 Replies
MonikaK1
Employee Tax Expert

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

I have not encountered this problem with the Educator Expenses for either TurboTax Online or Desktop versions.

 

If you entered $300 for each of you, you should see the $600 on Line 11 of Schedule 1. 

 

You can preview your return before filing to find out how your taxes were calculated. See here for details. 

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I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

I agree - Line 11is $300.  We have been using Turbo Tax for years and have never had this issue. 

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

Here are the screenshots to show what I am experiencing.  I can't finish my taxes without this corrected:

Educator Expenses 600.PNGEducator Expenses Summary 300.PNGLine 11 300.PNG

KeshaH
Employee Tax Expert

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

Let's take a look at your return so we can see exactly what you see and help come to a resolution. The return will be scrubbed and will not include any of your personal details.

 

Once you're logged into your account,

- on the left hand panel, click on Tax Tools and then choose Tools

- on the pop up window, select Share my file with Agent

- you'll see a message explaining that you will be providing a diagnostic copy of your return - your personal details will be changed so we will not be able to see any private information

- click okay and you'll get another message with a token

 

Reply to this message with your token and we'll take a look to see what we can find.

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

Thank you so much, sorry for the late reply.  The number is 1265601.

KeshaH
Employee Tax Expert

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

Your deduction is being limited to $300 because one of you received non-taxable qualified tuition program distributions.

 

Your educator expenses are deductible only to the extent that they exceed:

- nontaxable interest on series EE or I US savings bonds

- tax-free withdrawals from a Coverdell savings account

- tax-free reimbursements of expenses

- nontaxable distribution from a qualified state tuition program

 

Because the limit is $300, it's common to just enter the $300 in these fields - however you will want to enter the amount you actually paid so that the deductible amount can be calculated.

 

To fix this, go back to the screen where you entered the educator expenses and adjust the amount to the actual amount spent.

 

For more information on the educator expense deduction and its limitations, please read IRS Topic no 458, Educator expense deduction.

I've entered $300 in Educator Expenses for my spouse and myself. In the program it shows $600 in total expenses. When checking my final tax forms, only a $300 is given.

Thank you - that is really helpful!

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