Can private school tuition be deducted on taxes? Looking for partial deduction options

So I was talking with a coworker the other day and they mentioned being able to deduct part of their kids' private school tuition on their taxes. I was honestly surprised because I always thought education expenses weren't deductible unless it was college or something. And they specifically said it wasn't related to before/after school programs (which I know can sometimes be deducted as childcare). Has anyone heard of this or know what they might have been talking about? Is there some loophole or special situation where private school tuition can actually be a tax deduction? I'm paying nearly $15,000 a year for my daughter's school and would love to get some tax relief if it's possible!

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19 comments

Geoff Richards

•8M

What your coworker might have been referring to is a 529 plan that can now be used for K-12 private education expenses, not just college. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expanded 529 plans to allow withdrawals of up to $10,000 per year per student for elementary and secondary school tuition. This isn't technically a tax deduction on your federal return, but the money grows tax-free in the 529 account. Another possibility is that they live in a state that offers tax benefits for private education. Some states offer tax credits or deductions for private school expenses. For example, Louisiana, Indiana, and Minnesota have certain tax benefits for K-12 education expenses. They might also be talking about the Coverdell Education Savings Account, which allows for tax-free withdrawals for qualified K-12 expenses.

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Geoff Richards

•8M

For the 529 plan, you need to have the money in the account before paying tuition to get the tax benefit. The main advantage is that earnings grow tax-free, so ideally you'd contribute to it over time before making withdrawals. However, some states do offer income tax deductions for 529 contributions, so you could potentially contribute money now, immediately withdraw it for current tuition, and still get a state tax deduction if your state offers one. For immediate tax benefits, check if your state has any direct tax credits or deductions for K-12 education expenses, as those would apply to current year expenses regardless of having a savings account.

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Hugo Kass

•8M

I recently discovered taxr.ai after struggling with some confusing tax deduction questions similar to yours. I was trying to figure out if my daughter's specialized education program qualified for any tax benefits, and kept getting conflicting information online. I uploaded my tax documents and school tuition statements to https://taxr.ai and their AI analyzed everything and showed me exactly which education expenses qualified for my state's tax benefits (which I had no idea existed!). It also explained how to document everything properly to avoid issues if I'm audited.

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Hugo Kass

•8M

Yes, it absolutely works with previous years' documents! In fact, it flagged that I qualified for an education credit in my state for 2023 that I completely missed, and walked me through filing an amended return. Saved me nearly $800. Regarding state-specific rules, that's actually where I found it most helpful. It automatically detected my state from my documents and applied the relevant state tax rules. It knew about my state's special education expense deduction that my regular tax software completely missed. The system is updated with tax codes from all states, including the 15+ states that offer some form of K-12 education tax benefits.

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Khalil Urso

•8M

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai that I mentioned being skeptical about. I decided to try it with my tax situation (I have kids in private school in Arizona). It actually identified that Arizona has a tax credit program for private school contributions that I qualified for! I've been paying for private school for 3 years and had no idea I could get up to $2,483 as a married couple in tax credits. The system showed me exactly how to document the payments properly and even generated the state-specific forms I needed. Definitely worth checking out for anyone paying for private education.

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Myles Regis

•8M

If you're trying to figure this out by talking to the IRS directly, good luck. I spent WEEKS trying to get someone on the phone to explain the education deduction rules in my state. After getting disconnected four times and waiting on hold for literally hours, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes. You can check them out at https://claimyr.com or see how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. They basically navigate the phone tree for you and call you back when they have an agent on the line. The agent I spoke with clarified that while federal deductions for K-12 are limited, my state (Illinois) has special provisions I qualified for.

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Myles Regis

•8M

The service basically uses technology to navigate the IRS phone system for you. They have a system that calls the IRS, goes through all the prompts and waits on hold instead of you. When they finally get a human agent on the line, they connect that call to your phone. So instead of you spending hours listening to hold music, they do it for you and only call when there's an actual person to talk to. It absolutely works - I was skeptical too until I tried it. The IRS system is deliberately complicated but not impossible. Their technology just handles all the waiting and navigating, which is why they can get through when individual callers give up. I had been trying for weeks with no success, but with their service I was talking to a real IRS agent the same day.

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Jacinda Yu

•8M

I need to admit I was totally wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was so frustrated with my tax situation that I decided to try it anyway. I had been trying to reach someone at the IRS for THREE WEEKS about my private school tuition question. I signed up for Claimyr and literally had an IRS agent on the phone within 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that while there's no federal deduction specifically for private school tuition, my state (Pennsylvania) has an Educational Improvement Tax Credit program that I might qualify for through my school. Never would have learned this without actually speaking to someone. Saved me hours of hold music and frustration.

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Landon Flounder

•8M

Special education costs for children with learning disabilities can sometimes be deducted as medical expenses if the school is specifically chosen to address diagnosed medical conditions. The IRS allows medical expense deductions when the total exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You'd need documentation from a medical professional stating the school is part of the treatment plan for your child's condition. For most typical private school situations without specialized medical needs, the business connection is really the only creative approach I've seen, and as you suspected, it only works when there's a direct relationship between your business and the educational program.

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