[arvindTiger]

Hi,

My wife is going to school for her Ph.D.. I have a few questions on
How I can get a tax credit for these expenses and would appreciate any feedback.

1. We paid around $6K in fees. Can we get a deduction bigger than the usual $4K deduction? I saw something about American opportunity credit & Lifetime learning credit.

2. She has to attend supervision with a licensed psychologist to satisfy her course requirements. Can the fees for this be included in the total qualifying expenses?

3. She has to travel around 50 miles everyday as part of her training
To a center that provides support to juveniles who have run into
Trouble with the law. She is not paid for this. Is there any way to
Claim this expense as a deduction if we use standardized deduction?


Thanks,
Arvind

[Jaykid007]

1) Since she is in grad school, only the lifetime learning credit is available.
2) The credit it for tuition, fees, and books.
3) Was the training for her job or for school? If its for the job and she doesn't get reimbursed, she can deduct the mileage minus her regular commute to work. If you take the standard, this won't be added to the standard deduction.

[arvindTiger]

Thanks for the info Jaykid.

The training is for school. It is mandatory to get 500 hrs of training to get her degree. Can the mileage be used as expense in this case?

[Jaykid007]

It would need to be required by her employer. Mileage is not deductible for education purposes.