Does COE (College of Education) permit double taxation on education expenses? I feel like I'm losing my mind...

What the bursar's office told you doesn't sound quite right. The taxation of education expenses doesn't work that way. There are actually a few potential tax benefits for education expenses you might qualify for: First, if your Master's program is improving skills in your current profession (which teaching courses for a teacher would), you might be eligible to deduct these as unreimbursed employee expenses. However, this deduction was suspended for most employees from 2018-2025 unless you're self-employed. You might qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit, which allows you to claim 20% of up to $10,000 in qualified education expenses (maximum $2,000 credit). This is based on your income level and filing status. There's also the Tuition and Fees Deduction, though this may not be available for 2025 filing as it periodically expires and gets renewed. The bursar's office may have been referring to how the school is funded, but that has nothing to do with your personal tax situation. Their statement about "already factored into state education budgets" is irrelevant to your personal tax deductions.

I went through something similar last year with my teaching credential program! I was super frustrated until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which helped me navigate the whole education expense situation. The software analyzed my transcript from the university and my payment receipts, then showed me exactly which education credits I qualified for. The Lifetime Learning Credit ended up saving me about $1,500 on my taxes! It also flagged that my program qualified as work-related education since it was maintaining/improving skills needed in my current job. The best part was that it explained everything in simple language instead of tax jargon. It even created a personalized document I could take to my tax preparer that laid out all the relevant tax codes and credits I qualified for.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai for my education expenses - it was super helpful! I uploaded my COE tuition statements and it immediately identified that my program qualified for the Lifetime Learning Credit. The system even flagged that part of my textbook expenses were deductible (something I had no idea about). It created this detailed report showing exactly which parts of my education expenses qualified and under which tax codes. What really surprised me was it found a state-specific teacher education credit I had no clue about that's saving me an additional $350. My tax guy was actually impressed when I brought him the report - said it saved him an hour of research. Definitely worth checking out if you're in education!

I spent THREE DAYS trying to get someone at the IRS to clarify education credits for teachers. Calling the regular number was useless - hours on hold only to get disconnected. Then I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and watched their demo (https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c) and it seemed too good to be true. But I tried it, and within 15 minutes I was actually talking to a real IRS agent who specialized in education credits! They confirmed that the College of Education has NO special tax status that would prevent you from claiming education credits. The agent explained that the Lifetime Learning Credit would apply to your situation since you're enhancing skills in your current profession. They also told me the bursar's statement about "state education budgets" was completely irrelevant to your personal tax situation. Would have taken me weeks to get this info without Claimyr getting me through to an actual human at the IRS.

I have to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was still desperate to resolve my own education credit questions, so I decided to try it anyway. The system called me back in about 23 minutes (way faster than I expected) and connected me directly to an IRS agent. No hold music, no "your call is important to us" recordings - just straight to a helpful person who answered all my questions about education credits for my teaching certification program. The agent confirmed I could claim the Lifetime Learning Credit for my courses and even explained how to document everything properly to avoid audit flags. Would have probably spent 3+ hours trying to get this information on my own. Honestly one of the best services I've ever used - saved me a massive headache and potentially hundreds in tax benefits I might have missed.

Just FYI - I work in university administration (not at a COE) and what that bursar told you is complete nonsense. There's no special tax status for Colleges of Education that prevents students from claiming education tax benefits. My guess is the person you spoke with was confused about how the institution itself is funded or taxed, which has absolutely nothing to do with your personal tax situation as a student paying tuition. ALWAYS consult with a tax professional rather than university administrative staff about tax matters. We're not trained in personal tax law and shouldn't be giving that kind of advice to students.

Has anyone here successfully claimed both the LLC (Lifetime Learning Credit) AND deducted professional development expenses on Schedule C if you do some independent consulting work? I've been told different things by different tax preparers.