tax write off for plane ticket to school interview?

[stopitmarcy]

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Hi. A mentor of mine said I could write off a plane ticket for a school interview since I live in Hawaii is this true? It doesn't seem valid but I am very curious if others have heard of this? Thanks!

 

[lee222]

It may, but it won't if you still qualify as a dependent. The for agi deductions on education expense and the tax credits on educations are all limited so if you are not a dependent then even still you may max out the limitations with other expenses before you include the plane ticket.

I would say save the receipts for the plane ticket and documentation on why you went to the interview then when tax season comes around take it to your friendly neighborhood CPA.

I would also note that what I just said applies only to federal tax deductions, and your state may well have a deduction directly related to that expense, but again, you would probably not qualify if you are a dependent.

 

[stopitmarcy]

I'm independent. Thanks a lot for the info! It makes me a feel a little better knowing there is a possibility 🙂 👍

 

[CPA2doc]

Hi. A mentor of mine said I could write off a plane ticket for a school interview since I live in Hawaii is this true? It doesn't seem valid but I am very curious if others have heard of this? Thanks!

Short answer, I'd say probably not, but let's dig a little deeper. Full disclosure, I don't have my tax guide in front of me so don't take this to the bank.

For Federal income taxes tuition and school expenses either fall under "above-the-line deductions" for AGI (on the first page) or as the Hope or Lifetime Learning tax credits (you can only take one). Depending on the level of your earnings, you get the credit or, if your earnings are too high, the deduction. Both have a cap and I believe both are limited to tuition.

Do you itemize or take the standard deduction? If anything your travel costs could fall under a miscellaneous deduction if you itemize. Misc deductions are subject to 2% of your AGI though, so it takes a while before they start to count. Say your AGI is $50K, then the first $1000 won't be deducted but anything above that will.

I forget, does HI have a state income tax? This sounds like it may be a state tax thing in Hawaii?

Sorry if this sounds overly complicated. Let me know if you have other questions.