Tax write off for Montessori school

[Anonymous]

Hi. My son is 3 and I would like to enroll him in Montessori school. Will we be able to use this as a tax deduction?

[Anonymous]

No. Why would preschool be tax deductible?

[Anonymous]

Yes it is but only up to the childcare limit of 4k i think

[Anonymous]

If you are using it for childcare because you work, then yes until your child reaches kindergarten. At that point only the before and after are are tax deductible. If you do not work, then no.

[Anonymous]

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

There is a tax deduction for preschool/daycare? I know about the $5000 flexible dependent care account----I had no idea that daycare was tax deductible.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we deducted the limit for our 4-year-old's Montessori school this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a tax deduction for preschool/daycare? I know about the $5000 flexible dependent care account----I had no idea that daycare was tax deductible.

Flex spending accounts are just ways for you to take a tax deduction immediately, rather than paying taxes and getting the money back when you file and claim the deduction.

[Anonymous]

The child and dependent care credit is a credit, not a deduction.

If you have a daycare savings account available through work, that is generally a better option since those dollars come out of your paycheck pre-tax.

You can only use either the credit or the daycare account if you need the childcare in order to work or to seek full time employment.

If you have one child and a fully funded ($5 k) spending account, then you are not eligible for the child care credit. If you have 2 children and a fully funded spending account, you are also eligible for $1,000 of the childcare credit, presuming you spend $6k or year a more on two children for care.

You should run the numbers for which one makes most sense tax-wise for you, but most people find the daycare spending account to be the best option if it's available to you since it reduces your taxable income.

[Anonymous]

Is the preschool part tax deductible? I only accounted for the aftercare. Of course, with two kids (aftercare for two and summer camp for both) it is a drop in the bucket so used the flexible spending account and additional deduction (The $1000 the PP mentioned)