My oldest child is enrolled in a private military school.  We pay a substantial amount of tuition every year for her enrollment.  As my wife was preparing our taxes this year, she came across some information (namely IRS Pub 970 Chap 7) that seemed to indicate that we could deduct the tuition, books, uniforms, etc.

Does anyone know if this is actually the case?  . . .or is it part of another rule that we are only getting partial information from?

I really appreciate anyone's input.  Thanks!

How could you do that to your child? :(

DEFINITELY!!!  We were $20 short of the minimum (I think $300) cost you must incur to use it as a deduction.  So, yes, you CAN deduct it.  In fact, if you or your wife is enrolled full time in college, you can deduct those expenses as well, but for that, you have to be under a certain income :-\\


Thanks for the input. 

After discussing it with an accountant this afternoon (the father of one of my daughter's schoolmates), he advised that the tax system regards tuition as a fee for personal services. It permits tuitions to be deductible only if the services are to serve some immediate, profit-making purpose. Businesses paying tuitions so that employees' skills may be upgraded and more profitable for the business can deduct those tuitions. But parents paying tuition to send their children to private schools--or for that matter, to public schools that charge tuition--cannot deduct that tuition on personal tax returns, because personal expenses are not deductible.

There is a deduction for post secondary education (college and beyond), but I'm in too high a tax bracket to qualify and finished college a long time ago. :(  I DO get to deduct the interest on my never-ending student loans.  :D

However, some states allow private school tuition to be deducted from taxpayers MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) when filing state tax returns; Illinois and Arizona for example.  My state is not one of the lucky ones, besides my MAGI is likely too high.  :-\\

I am wondering-why do you have your child in military school? Do you hate individualism? Or are you just lazy about raising a child?

I raise my child just fine THANK YOU! :P  I would suggest that if you don't know what you're talking about, not to venture an opinion.

I respect the discipline and devotion to duty that a military atmosphere instills.  I also have a limited option on private schools in my area.  It's either the structured, character building military environment or the snobby rich white kid school that was founded (ironically) just as local schools became integrated.  I'm not from the South so I'm an outsider to the local-yokels here that think being from the North is short of high treason to the Confederacy. ::)

But don't you want your child to be herself? Don't you see her as an individual? A military school isn't conducive to intellectuality, just following orders.

What is wrong with PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

What is wrong with PUBLIC SCHOOLS?


Hmm...what's wrong with government schools.  Let's see.  Crime, condoms on cucumbers, gay agenda, brainwashing, low test scores, not a good education in any sense of the word, and bullys.  There is nothing really good to say about government schools.

Now to go off-topic a bit.  If we passed the fair tax, April 15th would be just another day. 

http://www.fairtax.org

If my husband and I had stayed in our prior town, our sons would have been students at a private Catholic school throughout grade 8, then gone to a private Catholic military academy. It has nothing to do with being lazy about raising a child, it has to do with the quality of the school systems....as a graduate of the public school system where we used to live, there is no way in hell I would have put my children in there. If anything, choosing that type of school for your child, unless there is an underlying reason such as behavioral problems, shows that you DO care about them and their future.


But military schools turn kids into robots, man. They try to make kids be adults, just let kids be kids.

What is wrong with PUBLIC SCHOOLS?


Why don't you tell us?

Thats part of why I want to homeschool my kids.

Huh? ???

Oh snap, busted..Where did you find that?

What I meant was, you see, is, well I figured that Allie wouldn't have the time or available resources to, you know, homeschool her children(which is probably the best option), and uh, you see, if I had to choose between public school and military school(in the event I couldn't homeschool), I'd choose public.

I didn't mean to imply that public should be the ONLY option.

Hmm...what's wrong with government schools.  Let's see.  Crime, condoms on cucumbers, gay agenda, brainwashing, low test scores, not a good education in any sense of the word, and bullys.  There is nothing really good to say about government schools.

Now to go off-topic a bit.  If we passed the fair tax, April 15th would be just another day. 

http://www.fairtax.org


Bull, I got bullied more in Private School than public school. They are no better. I went to Catholic and "Christian", and both were no better than public actually I would rate them worse. In private school I had people talking behind my back constantly, and they were all a bunch of phonys if you ask me. Public school isn't perfect, the biggest problem I see is the funding, I blame the GOP on that, cutting rich people's taxes is more imporant to them than education. The girls dressed just as dirty, and you wouldn't believe all the sex talk going on there. I used to think private schools are better, but after all the years of hell in private school, I say that's a bunch of bull. Private school example: teachers hear girl praising God, thinks girl is perfect angel, I hear the same girl talking about who she recently "gave head" to. Now of course the same thing happens in public school, but at least there is no fake perfect angel image of the students like in private school.

Where did you find that?


Reply #8 in the thread entitled: "Teen protests pledge being said in different languages."  That thread is currently still on page one of the politics and religion board.

What I meant was, you see, is, well I figured that Allie wouldn't have the time or available resources to, you know, homeschool her children. . .


Another reason I like military discipline is ATTENTION TO DETAIL!  I don't guess they teach that in public schools.   ;)

Another reason I like military discipline is ATTENTION TO DETAIL!  I don't guess they teach that in public schools.  ;)


Your problem if you want to raise clones with no real thought process.

Your problem if you want to raise clones with no real thought process.


I'll bet his kid(s) grow up better and have a more successful life than the average government school graduate.

I'll bet his kid(s) grow up better and have a more successful life than the average government school graduate.


I'm not so sure..I have known one person in my life who went to Private school and he is seriously f'ed up, and talks about how much the place sucked.

That's 1 person from 1 private school. A close friend of mine was homeschooled and now, lacks many "normal" social skills. I am a product of public schools, my experience at my particular school was substandard. You can't base an opinion on just part of the facts. Quite a few of the guys I went to college with (at UD ;)) were products of military schools and they were all quite normal....well, except for the silly haircuts ;)


I don't buy that crap about homeschooled persons not having adequate social skills. Maybe if they are only children and their parents were very hermitish so since they were home schooled they were home ALL the time.

There is a little boy in my Cub Scouts den who is homeschooled and he is a HOLY TERROR! His parents are the type to basically let them do whatever they want, don't raise your voice, etc. Granted, he's only 6, but my 3 year old behaves better in public than he does.

Again, just like everything, some home schooled kids are very well adjusted because their parents DO make the effort to get them involved in outside activities. However, some of them DO live quite a sheltered life. I think in today's world, most kids who are homeschooled DO have many opportunities outside of the home, but back when I was in school, they didn't. My friend and I have spoken about it in great detail. Back when we were in high school, basically the only place she went was to church. She met her husband at church and they got married when both were 19. He wants her to homeschool their 2 kids, but she is refusing as she doesn't want them to live the type of life she did as a child. As it is, he won't allow them in extracurricular activities, which is a MAJOR bone of contention in their household. He had a conniption when he found out we had taken the kids to the local water park as "it's not a very wholesome environment and the kids heard some pretty strong language there". Luckily, she is starting to break out of her shell, but it's taken her 20+ years to do so :-\\


Well I went all the way through grade school without having a single friend. I ate lunch alone everyday, noone talked to me, I mean I was totally estranged from my peers. I never saw any kids outside of school except for my cousin who visited a few times a year. So I spent my 90% of my time out of school at home playing alone. So I ight as well have been home schooled for the amount of interaction I got.

And I'm not anti-social today.

Three of my 4 kids attended PUBLIC (locally controlled) schools for part of their education and were also home schooled.  The youngest was all home schooled.  They are all normal, out going, well read and knowledgeable people (none went to private schools).  But I have met home schooled kids (mostly from fundamentalist families) who IMHO are real freaks.  All they know is the Bible, and the only way they know it is by rote.  There are, I think, flaws in all types of education, as there has to be in any institution, but I think the problems in education today go far beyond the schools.

Your problem if you want to raise clones with no real thought process.


It's not a good idea to criticize people's parenting decisions, especially when you don't know the situation first hand.  There is nothing wrong with private schools.  Just because it is military doesn't mean it turns out clones.  I know plenty of military people, and they don't all think the same or act the same.


I'm not so sure..I have known one person in my life who went to Private school and he is seriously f'ed up, and talks about how much the place sucked.


You know one person who hated it?  Generalization isn't good.  That would be like saying all liberals, conservatives or Christians think exactly alike, even though we know that isn't true...just from the people that visit here.