Deposits ?= Charitable Donation?

[pietachok]

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Sooo, it never occurred to me, but as I contemplate switching from UNECOM to NYCOM, my mother has asked if these ridiculous (and now one non-attributed to tuition) deposits could possibly count as a charitable deduction, since schools are non-profits?

Has anybody done this, asked about it, or looked into it? Not that I'd take your response as the final one, obviously.

 

[chewsnuffles]

haha, you're mom is pretty clever/on-the-ball here

i'd like to know the answer as well (all though it won't help many of us, myself included, who claim the standard deduction, but it still might help if your parents claim you as a dependent)

 

[rajaholick]

pretty sure only non-profit charitable organizations qualify
med schools are not counted in that, even if they are non-profit

 

[Boges]

pretty sure only non-profit charitable organizations qualify
med schools are not counted in that, even if they are non-profit

I think you're wrong:

501(c)(3) — Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals Organizations

But I'm not a tax expert.

The original question is very interesting. Especially considering the OP will not be attending the first school and thus the money won't be going toward tuition.

 

[scpod]

Tuition or any fees required before enrollment in a private school are specifically prohibited by the IRS, even if your earmark them as "charitable". The money you paid as a deposit is specifically applied to tuition. That you later choose not to attend the school does not change that fact. It is part of the section where you cannot deduct payments where you have personal gain. That deposit held a seat for you under a contract. That is personal gain.

 

[Boges]

Tuition or any fees required before enrollment in a private school are specifically prohibited by the IRS, even if your earmark them as "charitable". The money you paid as a deposit is specifically applied to tuition. That you later choose not to attend the school does not change that fact. It is part of the section where you cannot deduct payments where you have personal gain. That deposit held a seat for you under a contract. That is personal gain.

Well, there you have it then—no dice.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

scpod did my taxes the one and only year I didn't get a refund. 🙁



😀




Good question, OP! I was keeping my fingers crossed for ya!

 

[rkaz]

Tuition or any fees required before enrollment in a private school are specifically prohibited by the IRS, even if your earmark them as "charitable". The money you paid as a deposit is specifically applied to tuition. That you later choose not to attend the school does not change that fact. It is part of the section where you cannot deduct payments where you have personal gain. That deposit held a seat for you under a contract. That is personal gain.

What about secondary fees to public schools... especially schools that rejected us? That money wasn't applied to tuition since we got rejected.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

What about secondary fees to public schools... especially schools that rejected us? That money wasn't applied to tuition since we got rejected.

A secondary fee is a PURCHASE, not a donation. You BOUGHT the ability to have some employees spend time looking at your application and consider you for admission. No chance.

 

[rkaz]

A secondary fee is a PURCHASE, not a donation. You BOUGHT the ability to have some employees spend time looking at your application and consider you for admission. No chance.

Oh, I'm not arguing with this... I agree with you, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask. 😛

 

[NRC]

see sec2:1 or pg 3 of 16 for clarification:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf

Hope this helps...sorry for you not being able to do that. Nice Try Bud!!!

 

[pietachok]

I definitely concur with not being able to use application fees as a donation--you are paying for a service. I don't see the "place holding fee" as a service, however. In spite of what SCPOD has said, I think I'm going to ask a financial lawyer about this, b/c the amount of money involved makes it compelling enough for a lot of people.

I didn't sign a contract, actually, when I "saved" my seat at UNECOM. I believe NOVA, AT STill, and NYCOM have all asked for signatures...but there still is no service, AND, the money was not put toward tuition. If it is put toward tuition, NOW, it will be graciously put toward someone else's tuition.

I don't see how it would hurt schools if they worded their contracts to make this an accessible option for accepted applicants, and it would certainly ease the financial burden for people, a teeny bit.

 

[235750]

Sooo, it never occurred to me, but as I contemplate switching from UNECOM to NYCOM, my mother has asked if these ridiculous (and now one non-attributed to tuition) deposits could possibly count as a charitable deduction, since schools are non-profits?

It's a good idea, but wouldn't that be just a little too good if one's entire tuition was a charitable deduction?

Fist of all, getting something to count as a tax write off means nothing if you don't have a large enough income to be federally taxed. So, unless you've been working full-time and earning around $30 k, it won't help you. Payroll taxes and other expenses you see on your pay cheque (medicare, etc) aren't effected by deductions. Of course if you are still a dependent it could help your parents...is this the situation you are in?

I am not a tax expert either, but that money you paid should be a tuition payment which does count in your favor when you do your 08 taxes, if of course it was paid before the New Year. If you did pay it before January, you should have gotten a tax receipt from them that you will include in your 1040. Again, this will mean nothing if you had no income to tax!

Good luck!!

 

[hermit]

I don't think so Senator Daschle.

 

[235750]

Also, I would like to add this:

I am not trying to be cheeky, but rather optimistic, when I say that: your lost deposit is nothing in the long run. I am about to lose $1,000s (!!!) to a school that I wanted to keep as a safety...the reassurance that the deposit gave me was worth it before I got my PCOM acceptance.

Look at it this way:what if you hadn't got into your choice school, NYCOM, and did not put down your deposit at UNECOM? You'd have to wait another year to apply to medical school, find something to do with yourself in the mean time, maybe take the MCATS again, have to pay all those application costs/MCAT exam again, have to start to pay your school loans, and relive the nightmare that is known as 'applying to medical school'. That's what happened to me last year, and although things turned out ok (I got to live with my girlfriend, get engaged, make money (thank god) etc), I would not reccomend it to anyone else

Honestly, the security that the $1,000s give is worth it if you think about it from this perspective. Trust me you DON'T want to do this ****e again. You did the right thing.

Be happy with your acceptances and move on!! 👍🙂

 

[pietachok]

Well, it's not just about losing one school's deposit in my case...it might be worse. And I'm a non-traditional applicant, so I work full-time and pay enough taxes for this to matter.

I will probably switch from UNECOM to NYCOM. But if I get into USC after putting down the NYCOM deposit or like any of the other M.D. programs I get admitted to better, I will lose the NYCOM money, too.

I'm also waiting to hear from PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM. I'm in-state for NJ :-/, and should have heard from them before NYCOM but they lost my LOR's...

ARGH.

 

[Bleurberry]

Well, it's not just about losing one school's deposit in my case...it might be worse. And I'm a non-traditional applicant, so I work full-time and pay enough taxes for this to matter.

I will probably switch from UNECOM to NYCOM. But if I get into USC after putting down the NYCOM deposit or like any of the other M.D. programs I get admitted to better, I will lose the NYCOM money, too.

I'm also waiting to hear from PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM. I'm in-state for NJ :-/, and should have heard from them before NYCOM but they lost my LOR's...

ARGH.

Sounds like you want to be as close to NJ as you can get.
Good luck, from one non-trad to another.

 

[235750]

Well, it's not just about losing one school's deposit in my case...it might be worse. And I'm a non-traditional applicant, so I work full-time and pay enough taxes for this to matter.

I will probably switch from UNECOM to NYCOM. But if I get into USC after putting down the NYCOM deposit or like any of the other M.D. programs I get admitted to better, I will lose the NYCOM money, too.

I'm also waiting to hear from PCOM and UMDNJ-SOM. I'm in-state for NJ :-/, and should have heard from them before NYCOM but they lost my LOR's...

ARGH.

Yikes, so you will be losing losing $1000s from multiple acceptances. And you are financially independent. That does suck that you are losing that much money.

You can call UNECOM to get a donations receipt, but I doubt you are going to get it. It's doesn't hurt to try I guess. You will need that receipt if you get audited.

Again though, I would urge you to 'bite the bullet' as it were.

I know NYCOM's a lot of money for tuition, but I'd gladly lose a deposit to avoid UNECOM (a good school, just not a good fit for me, or for yourself I take it). So that one lost deposit is worth it, wouldn't you say?

And let's say you get into UMDNJ. The tuition at UMDNJ is around, what, about $23 k for in state people? So you'd save around $14 k that first year if you got into UMDNJ, so you can rationalize your lost NYCOM/UNECOM deposits with the money you don't have to pay for tuition. Same thing for USC: you'd get instate for the other 3 years of med school so you'd save money in the long run. Plus USC is an awesome school, well worth the lost couple thousand. And that's what applying to med school is all about: looking at the long term.

This process is expensive and exhausting. Ultimately you have been accepted to some great schools with more on the way, so you should be proud of yourself.

In all likelihood there is nothing you can do about those lost deposits. Just be happy with your situation (you have multiple acceptances, how great is that!) and move on my friend! 👍