Hi,

- Are car registration fees deductible? If yes, are they deemed to be included as part of standard deduction or separate? I am not intending to post any itemized deductions for this year

- My spouse (currently a homemaker) is studying at home (books,online study material,etc all paid for) for a post-graduate/professional degree (CPA).She doesn't attend any college.She will me giving exams through Pearson/Prometric.We will be filing jointly.Will she qualify for a Education/Learning credit? If yes, what will be the standard amount of credit.

Thanks

Car registration fees are not deductible. And I don't think your wife's educational expenses will be either.

To claim the Education Credit/Deduction, you MUST attend an approved educational institution. I doubt that online studies qualify.

And, no, car registration fees are NOT deductible.

However, ad valorum taxes are often collected when you register your car. Those taxes are personal property taxes and ARE deductible as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.

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Originally Posted by supera

Hi,

- Are car registration fees deductible? If yes, are they deemed to be included as part of standard deduction or separate? I am not intending to post any itemized deductions for this year

- My spouse (currently a homemaker) is studying at home (books,online study material,etc all paid for) for a post-graduate/professional degree (CPA).She doesnt attend any college.She will me giving exams through Pearson/Prometric.We will be filing jointly.Will she qualify for a Education/Learning credit? If yes, what will be the standard amount of credit.

Thanks

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Thanks ATE. But then I wonder how do the accountants/finance guys get their CPA study and examination expenses covered under the taxes? Is the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) not an approved institution? They do not have any physical college.They just offer/certify the CPA exams... Any suggestions please?

Qualification educatuon and exams for a profession, like medical school and the national boards, or the NASBA, are NOT DEDUCTIBLE.

Personal property tax is deductible if it is a state or local tax that is:
*Charged on personal property,
*Based only on the value of the personal property, and
*Charged on a yearly basis, even if it is collected more or less than once a year.

A tax that meets the above requirements can be considered charged on personal property even if it is for the exercise of a privilege. For example, a yearly tax based on value qualifies as a personal property tax even if it is called a registration fee and is for the privilege of registering motor vehicles or using them on the highways.
If the tax is partly based on value and partly based on other criteria, it may qualify in part.

Thus for the car registration fee you may be able to deduct a part of it that is based on the value of the car. Also you can deduct it as an itemized deduction.
Publication 17: Your Individual Income tax, Chapter 22--Taxes; Personal Property Taxes.

Noted!