Can I get tax education credits for SDC?

[Pelican]

I have been studying at Study.com all year, paying all year. I can get an education credit on my US federal taxes for paying tuition at colleges. Can one get credit for study.com tuition?

[dfrecore]

No - because it's not a college.

[jsd]

Long story short, no

An eligible educational institution means a college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institution that's accredited and eligible to participate in the federal financial student aid programs administered by the Department of Education.

https://www.irs.gov/faqs/childcare-credi...on-credits

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dfrecore not only beat me to it, but made the story even shorter

[videogamesrock]

If it’s continued education for job performance I would deduct it.

This would be different than a tax credit. I wrote off my accounting courses since I do bookkeeping every few days.

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[tjguitar85]

If it’s continued education for job performance I would deduct it.

There would not be anywhere to deduct it. Unreimbursed employee expenses went away with the Tax Cuts Job Act.

[P226mem]

If it’s continued education for job performance I would deduct it.

There would not be anywhere to deduct it. Unreimbursed employee expenses went away with the Tax Cuts Job Act.

True, but
If one is self employed, then check out IRS tax topic 513 (and the associated Publication 970) for work related education expenses for more information how it might apply on schedule c business expense.   I don't know if it does or does not. Just mentioning one possible place to look for more information on the ins and outs of when it is and when education expense is not a qualified expense for self employed. some times it is. some times it is not an expense. many variables.

(agreeing with the case for original question that sdc is not a college, so no "credit" on that part. business expense is a separate but related topic)

[videogamesrock]

You can tie it into a business and use it as a business expense. I have one LLC that invests in oil Trusts which receives monthly dividends. That might be an option. You’ll receive a 1099 from the Trust directly at the end of the year.


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[dfrecore]

Doing this whole business thing is confusing. For the average person, with no business expenses, the answer is just no.

[videogamesrock]

Here is the link to setup a TD business account. The account will grant checks and a debit card, and you can invest in dividend paying stocks, or publicly traded oil trusts, futures, options, or boring but effective index funds! For now you can choose the sole proprietor account option and poof you're in business. Most states do not require sole proprietors to register. You'll use your own social instead of a tax id. If you're going to spend a few thousand on accounting, finance, business courses, they should pair nicely with your new venture.

https://www.tdameritrade.com/account-typ...ialty.page

This might lead to you converting to an investment club account or one under an LLC if you choose to open one, but most importantly, learning how to invest leads to lifelong benefits through the miracles of compound interest beyond the rate of inflation.

I would suggest the LLC option as you would get a separate tax ID on your annual tax forms.

[Merlin]

Here is the link to setup a TD business account.  The account will grant checks and a debit card, and you can invest in dividend paying stocks, or publicly traded oil trusts, futures, options, or boring but effective index funds!  For now you can choose the sole proprietor account option and poof you're in business.  Most states do not require sole proprietors to register.  You'll use your own social instead of a tax id.  If you're going to spend a few thousand on accounting, finance, business courses, they should pair nicely with your new venture.

https://www.tdameritrade.com/account-typ...ialty.page

This might lead to you converting to an investment club account or one under an LLC if you choose to open one, but most importantly, learning how to invest leads to lifelong benefits through the miracles of compound interest beyond the rate of inflation.

I would suggest the LLC option as you would get a separate tax ID on your annual tax forms.

This isn't a tax forum, so we should avoid giving tax advice. But, that said, I should point out that if you create a business entity in some states (such as California) you will have to pay an annual state tax that could have a minimum regardless of whether you generate income or not. The minimum tax is $800/yr for California, for example. I don't believe this tax is levied on sole proprietorships since they don't operate as an independent legal entity, they are just an extension of you. But it does affect other passthrough entities like LLC's and C-Corps.

I also recommend that anyone who is considering pursuing activities like this just to gain additional tax deductions to seek guidance from a tax professional before doing so. You don't want to get on the bad side of the IRS or your state tax board because you didn't know about something.