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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Maybe that person, who seems a little ignorant, is confusing college tuition with tax-preferred college savings plans like 529 plans?[/quote]

I imagine this person is referring to the tuition and fees deduction, which allows you to deduct some amount of the income used towards tuition and fees, and is phased out at incomes that are often discussed at this board (160K joint or something like that?).  There is also the American Opportunity tax credit and Lifetime learning tax credit, but I believe those would also be phased out at incomes frequently discussed on this board as well.  They also tend to be less relevant for people who use savings plans like 529s, but I'm not 100% sure of the details.[/quote]

You can deduct up to $4k in tuition and fees (but not room and board) so long as you are not also taking the American Opportunity or Lifetime Learning tax credits, and so long as the deducted tuition was not paid for from a Coverdell or 529 account (this is so you don't double dip on tax savings). It phases out at higher incomes like PP said. The full $4k is available for single filers with MAGI=$65k and couples with MAGI=$130k. Above these incomes and up to income=$80k for singles and income=$160k for couples, the tax break is for paying college tuition and fees up to $2,000.

So this doesn't really help OP in the sense that it's somehow a tax break for rich people who pay for education. It's to help lower- and middle-income families pay for higher education, on the grounds that there are no free higher education alternatives, as there are with K-12.[/quote]

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