The educator expenses is not working. How do you do this?

[Anonymous]

How do you get the educator expenses to work. I put in the 300 dollars but it keeps saying I have 0.

[KrisD15]

To clarify, did you first enter income to which the adjustment may be applied? 

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about this spot? 

I already have my W2 and all other forms in. 

[LindaS5247]

Make sure you have properly answered all of the prompts in TurboTax to get credit for Educator Expenses.  

To meet the requirements to take the Educator Expense Deduction:

Teachers may be eligible for the Educator Expense Deduction if they meet certain criteria. 

• Work as a teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or classroom aide
• Work with students in kindergarten through grade 12
• Complete at least 900 hours of work during the school year
• Be employed by a school that provides elementary or secondary education as determined by state law  

An educator who worked in a first-grade classroom at a public school and met the hours requirement would likely qualify for the deduction. Similarly, a guidance counselor who purchased materials to work with students could also be eligible.

• However, individuals working at pre-schools, homeschooling their own children, or who are employed by a college or graduate school would not qualify for this deduction.
• The IRS has special qualifications for married couples where both people work as educators. If two teachers are married and filing taxes jointly, they are eligible to deduct a total of up to $600, with no more than $300 in expenses for each person for 2022.

In order to take the Educator Expense Deduction, teachers should begin by determining eligibility. Once you have verified that you meet the minimum hours and that you work in a qualifying school, look at your expenses over the last year that qualify for this deduction. There are a few factors that influence how much you can deduct:

• You can’t deduct expenses reimbursed by your school, covered by a grant or another source.
• Expenses can only be deducted when they exceed tax-free withdrawals from your Coverdell Education Savings Account, distributions from state tuition programs that you don’t report as income, and interest on savings bonds that don’t need to be reported if you paid higher education expenses.

To enter your Educator Expenses in TurboTax Online:

• Continue your return in TurboTax Online. (If your return isn't open, you'll need to sign in and click Take me to my return.)
• Click Tax Tools (lower left side of your screen).
• Select Tools.
• In the pop-up window, select Topic Search.
• In the I'm looking for: box, type teacher.
• In the results box, highlight teacher classroom expenses, then click GO.
• Follow the onscreen instructions. 

If you are using the Windows/CD version of TurboTax, ender your Educator Expenses as follows:

• At the top of the screen click on Tax Topics
• Select Education Expenses
• Follow the prompts until you get to "Did you spend your own money as a Teacher in 2022?"
• Select Yes
• On the next page enter your $300.

Click here for a detailed explanation of Educator Expenses.

Click here for tax tips from TurboTax regarding Educator Expenses.

Click here for a detailed explanation of Educator Expenses.

Click here for information on Turbo Tax Support.

[Anonymous]

I do qualify, I am a teacher. I followed those exact same steps again and the same things is happening. It then tells me that I don't qualify because I put 0, but as you can see in the screen shot below, it had 300.

[LindaS5247]

Try reentering your information in TurboTax. 

From your screenshot it appears you are entering it in the correct place.

I tried this and it did work.

If you can not get this to work properly for you , you may want to contact a Live Agent who can share your screen and go through your prompts with you.

Click here for information on Turbo Tax Support.

Make sure you have properly answered all of the prompts in TurboTax to get credit for Educator Expenses.  

To meet the requirements to take the Educator Expense Deduction:

Teachers may be eligible for the Educator Expense Deduction if they meet certain criteria. 

• Work as a teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or classroom aide
• Work with students in kindergarten through grade 12
• Complete at least 900 hours of work during the school year
• Be employed by a school that provides elementary or secondary education as determined by state law  

An educator who worked in a first-grade classroom at a public school and met the hours requirement would likely qualify for the deduction. Similarly, a guidance counselor who purchased materials to work with students could also be eligible.

• However, individuals working at pre-schools, homeschooling their own children, or who are employed by a college or graduate school would not qualify for this deduction.
• The IRS has special qualifications for married couples where both people work as educators. If two teachers are married and filing taxes jointly, they are eligible to deduct a total of up to $600, with no more than $300 in expenses for each person for 2022.

In order to take the Educator Expense Deduction, teachers should begin by determining eligibility. Once you have verified that you meet the minimum hours and that you work in a qualifying school, look at your expenses over the last year that qualify for this deduction. There are a few factors that influence how much you can deduct:

• You can’t deduct expenses reimbursed by your school, covered by a grant or another source.
• Expenses can only be deducted when they exceed tax-free withdrawals from your Coverdell Education Savings Account, distributions from state tuition programs that you don’t report as income, and interest on savings bonds that don’t need to be reported if you paid higher education expenses.

To enter your Educator Expenses in TurboTax Online:

• Continue your return in TurboTax Online. (If your return isn't open, you'll need to sign in and click Take me to my return.)
• Click Tax Tools (lower left side of your screen).
• Select Tools.
• In the pop-up window, select Topic Search.
• In the I'm looking for: box, type teacher.
• In the results box, highlight teacher classroom expenses, then click GO.
• Follow the onscreen instructions. 

If you are using the Windows/CD version of TurboTax, ender your Educator Expenses as follows:

• At the top of the screen click on Tax Topics
• Select Education Expenses
• Follow the prompts until you get to "Did you spend your own money as a Teacher in 2022?"
• Select Yes
• On the next page enter your $300.

Click here for a detailed explanation of Educator Expenses.

Click here for tax tips from TurboTax regarding Educator Expenses.

Click here for a detailed explanation of Educator Expenses.

Reply

[Edited 02/19/23|5:56 pm PST] @mscarr19-gmail-c

[PEF273]

Did that and after hitting continue, Turbo tax says I entered $0 so I won't get a deduction.  It will not let me correct it in the forms either.

[JamesG1]

What occupation are you declaring on page two of the Federal 1040 tax return?

Your occupation is entered under your name under My Info in TurboTax Online.

Your occupation is entered under your name under Personal Info in TurboTax CD/Download.

Are you reporting income related to the teaching profession on your tax return?

Expenditures for the Teacher Educator Expenses may be entered here.

• Down the left side of the screen, click Federal.
• Down the left side of the screen, click Deductions & Credits.
• Scroll down to Employment Expenses.  Click Show More.
• To the right of Teacher (Educator) Expenses, click Start / Revisit.

@LindaS5247 has an excellent explanation of the requirements for Teacher Educator Expenses.

@PEF273 

[Bap8]

I’m having this same issue. I put amounts in for my spouse who is a teacher and lists her job as a teacher in the system. Yet it keeps saying I don’t qualify for this deduction. And that I don’t qualify because “earlier you told us you have $0 in teacher (educator) expenses so there’s nothing to deduct….” Which is wrong. I asked for online help and the TurboTax product specialist advised me I needed to upgrade to get a tax advisor. This is not a tax advisor problem. I’m eligible for the deduction. I entered the expenses paid. And the system isn’t allowing the deduction. Seems like a flaw in the software to me. 

[BrittanyS]

It would be helpful to have a TurboTax token.  The token provides a sanitized version of your return.  We will be able to see the numbers but not any personal information such as your name, SSN, or address.  

If you would like to do this, here are the instructions: 

In TurboTax Online, go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools. 

1. Then select Tools below Tax Tools. 
2. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.  
3. On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. 
4. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen, and you will get a Token number. 

In TurboTax CD/Download versions, go to the black panel on your screen and select Online. 

1. Scroll down and select Send tax file to Agent. 
2. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click send through this screen, and you will get a Token number. 

Reply to this thread with your Token number. 

We will then be able to see precisely what you are seeing, and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.

@Bap8 

[TMAC67]

Is there a resolution to this issue?  I'm having the same problem-and haven't had it in the past.  I DO qualify (although it lists both myself and my husband-he is not an educator).  I enter "yes" that I had expenses and then on the next screen I enter the amount.  It tells me I don't qualify because earlier I answered that I had "0" educator expenses.  (I entered an amount on the previous screen for myself but $0 for my husband.  I've tried deleting my W-2 and re-entering and re-answering the educator expenses section to no avail.

Interestingly though, if I enter an amount under my husband (who is not an educator) it does give me a deduction but not dollar for dollar (I've changed his back to 0 since he isn't an educator but I wanted to see what would happen.  

[AliciaP1]

It would be helpful to have a TurboTax ".tax2022" file that is experiencing this issue.

You can send us a “diagnostic” file that has your “numbers” but not your personal information.  If you would like to do this, here are the instructions: 

In TurboTax Online, go to the black panel on the left side of your program and select Tax Tools. 

1. Then select Tools below Tax Tools. 
2. A window will pop up which says Tools Center.  
3. On this screen, select Share my file with Agent. 
4. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click okay through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 

In TurboTax CD/Download versions, go to the black panel on the top of your screen and select Online. 

1. Scroll down to and select Send tax file to Agent. 
2. You will see a message explaining what the diagnostic copy is.  Click send through this screen and then you will get a Token number. 

Reply to this thread with your Token number. This will allow us to open a copy of your return without seeing any personal information.   

We will then be able to see exactly what you are seeing and we can determine what exactly is going on in your return and provide you with a resolution.

@TMAC67 

[TMAC67]

1109490

[TMAC67]

Thank you-1109490

[AliciaP1]

Upon review, since you took a distribution from your 529 plan you are not eligible to deduct the maximum $300 educator expenses for 2022.

Per the IRS:

Educator Expense Deduction:

Qualified expenses are deductible only to the extent the amount of such expenses exceed the following amounts for the tax year:

• The interest on series EE and I U.S. savings bonds that you exclude from income because you paid qualified higher education expenses,
• Any distribution from a qualified state tuition program that you exclude from income,
• Any tax-free withdrawals from your Coverdell education savings accounts,
• Any reimbursements you receive for expenses that aren't reported to you in box 1 of your Form W-2.

@TMAC67