? Tax Deductions

for Learning CTR Online Tuition ?

Is Learning CTR Online tuition a tax-deductible “qualified education expense” under U.S. federal or state law? Most likely for you it is not.

The “529 deduction” extends to tuition payments to elementary and secondary schools made after January 1, 2018. Is Learning CTR Online tuition tax deductible under this extension? Most likely it is not, because the federal government specifically excludes homeschooling from this deduction.

The requirements for the deduction are:

The payments must be for tuition (not other school expenses).
The institution must be “a public, private, or religious school” (it can be an online school).
The deduction may not be used for homeschool expenses, including fees paid for “classes” taken from outside organizations.

How is a “school” defined in this instance? According to the statute, it is “any school which provides elementary education or secondary education (kindergarten through grade 12), as determined under State law.” Learning CTR Online is not considered a “school” under this definition. By definition, independent home educated students are not enrolled full-time state-registered schools, regardless of where they take classes (to the best of our knowledge, the law has not been tested on this point).

If you plan to use Learning CTR Online tuition as a “qualified education expense” on your taxes, please consult a tax professional registered in your state. Please do not include Learning CTR Online in your decision process because Learning CTR Online is not a tax expert in any state and will not provide you guidance outside of our expertise and authority. If you request it, Learning CTR Online will provide you a signed receipt for tuition, fees and payments for a specified period. Learning CTR Online will not provide you a “tuition-only receipt” or a “tuition receipt for tax purposes” or a “school tax ID” (Learning CTR Online does not have a “school tax ID”) for any request — Learning CTR Online will politely decline any tuition verification request that is for “tax” purposes.