Key Takeaways
- You might be able to recover part of your computer's cost on your taxes if it qualifies as an educational expense.
- A computer usually counts as an educational expense if it's a necessary requirement for enrollment or attendance at a school.
- Beginning in 2018, educational expenses are no longer eligible as itemized deductions.
Education expenses
If you find yourself putting off tax filing after a year of pounding out college reports on your computer, take heart—you may be able to get back the cost of that computer on your income taxes.
- The IRS publishes specific requirements for educational expenses and a computer often qualifies.
- If it doesn't qualify under a tax credit, you still may be able to list it as an itemized deduction on your taxes.
TurboTax Tip:
If you are an educator using your computer for school purposes, you can use the educator expense deduction to deduct up to $300 of the cost for 2024.
Education tax credits
The government uses tax policy to encourage activities such as paying for education and saving for retirement. While the names and amounts vary, the IRS generally provides for some type of educational tax credit to help offset the costs of qualifying tuition and related expenses.
- A computer for school purposes may or may not qualify for these credits.
- Generally, if your computer is a necessary requirement for enrollment or attendance at an educational institution, the IRS deems it a qualifying expense.
- If you are using the computer simply out of convenience, it most likely does not qualify for a tax credit.
Itemized deductions
Itemized deductions are different from tax credits. While a tax credit will reduce your taxes on a dollar-for-dollar basis, a deduction reduces your taxable income instead. That means tax credits will lower your overall tax bill by a larger amount, but itemized deductions can still help.
- For tax years prior to 2018, if your computer does not qualify for any educational tax credits, you may be able to claim the expense as an itemized deduction instead.
- Beginning in 2018, these types of expenses are no longer eligible as an itemized deduction.
Educator expenses
If you are an educator using your computer for school purposes, you can use the educator expense deduction to deduct up to $300 of the cost for 2024.
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