FAQs: Common Questions for
the IRS
What types of educational expenses are
deductible?
Deductible educational expenses include amounts
spent for tuition, books, supplies, laboratory fees, and
similar items. They also include the cost of
correspondence courses, as well as formal training and
research you do as part of an educational program.
Transportation and travel expenses to attend qualified
educational activities may also be deductible. For more
information, refer to
Tax Topic 513, Educational
Expenses.
Can I claim the Child Care Credit and/or
Dependent Care Credit?
If you paid someone to care for your dependent
under age 13 or your disabled dependent or spouse so
that you could work or look for work, you may be able to
claim the credit for child and dependent care expenses.
For specific information on how to qualify for
the Child Care Credit refer to
Tax Topic 602, Child and
Dependent Care Credit, or
Publication 503, Child and
Dependent Care Expenses.
Can the noncustodial parent claim dependency?
My 7-year-old son lived in my household for
seven months of the year, and I provided all of his
support. I paid child support to his other parent for
the other five months. Can I claim my son as a dependent
and for a child tax credit without
Form 8332?
There is a special rule for children of
divorced or separated parents, which usually gives the
dependency exemption to the custodial parent. The
custodial parent is defined as the parent who has
custody of the child for the greater part of the year.
If you can claim your son as a dependent and he is under
age 17 at the end of the tax year and a citizen or
resident of the United States, you may be able to claim
the Child Tax Credit.
Under the special rule, the parent who had
custody of the child for the greater part of the year
(the custodial parent) is generally treated as the
parent who provided more than half of the child's
support. This parent is usually allowed to claim the
exemption for the child if the other dependency tests
are met. However, the noncustodial parent may be treated
as the parent who provided more than half of the child's
support if certain conditions are met.
If you need professional advice, you must
consult with an accountant, attorney, or other tax
professional.
Most people will not need a tax attorney.
However, if you wish to consult a tax attorney, search
the Internet. You can do this by typing tax attorney in
any search engine. You will then be able to find the tax
attorney that is right for you.
OnLine Taxes is a self-prepared tax site. We
cannot give tax advice. We can only advise on using the
OnLine Taxes site and general information concerning
taxes and errors.
You must file Form 1040 Schedule SE if:
- You had net earnings
from self-employment from other than church employee
income (line 4 of Short Form 1040 Schedule SE or
line 4c of Long Form 1040 Schedule SE) of $400 or
more or
- You had church employee
income of $108.28 or more. Income from services you
performed as a minister or a member of a religious
order is not church employee income (see page SE-1).
Note: Even if you had a
loss or a small amount of income from self-employment,
it may be to your benefit to file Form 1040 Schedule SE
and use either "optional method" in Part II of Long Form
1040 Schedule SE
Exception: If your only
self-employment income was from earnings as a minister,
member of a religious order, or Christian Science
practitioner and you filed Form 4361 and received IRS
approval not to be taxed on those earnings, do not file
Form 1040 Schedule SE. Instead, write "Exempt-Form 4361"
on Form 1040, line 56.
Nothing on this page or this site should be construed
as accounting or legal advice. This is why
you should hire a trusted Austin accountant
or CPA