Not fair when your income is just above $80,000-$90,000 mark you get NO tax deduction

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Not fair when your income is just above $80,000-$90,000 mark you get NO tax deduction

by Anonymous

I don't understand why there is an income limit on the tax deduction. I am a single mom and don't have 2 incomes...why should a two income house hold of up to $160,000 be able to deduct the college tuition costs but I cannot...depending on what is put into my 401K program pretax, I am right at that limit...and next year there will be two kids in college...it does not seem fair...I am not at the $250,000 middle class family that Obama has cited...I am near the $90,000 mark, just above and yet tuition is $14,000.00 this year and I do not get to deduct any of it...not fair ...it penalizes the single mom home...

ANSWER:
It is true that depending on where you live in the U.S., that $80,000 could be a lot of money, or barely enough. The college tax credit does not take that into account, but that is true for all federal income tax rules. The tax schedules do not say, "If your income is between 'x' and 'y', and you live in the state of..." It is just based on the numbers.

If it is any consolation, next year when your second child is in school, you will get a break on your income for both their FAFSA's.

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Not fair when your income is just above $80,000-$90,000 mark you get NO tax deduction

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You are pretty lucky
by: Mike S

You are very fortunate to have such a nice income. It may not seem to be so much to you but many people make much less. It sounds like you are able to pay the school costs and if your kids get part time jobs they could help also.

You probably don't want to hear this but our government is broke and every dollar we get in tax credits is a dollar borrowed on the backs of your daughters' children.

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Punished for being single
by: Anonymous

Single parents are not whining about the amount they make. We want to know why we pay more taxes than married and why we cannot earn over $65,000 a year to write our kids college off such as the married families. Should be based on income, not marital status. We pay mortgages, raise kids, pay taxes. I paid my own way through college, served in the armed forces, and have never qualified for aid of any kind. I feel like I am being punished and taken advantage of because I work hard and am single. My married friends EFC for their child's college is $11,000 with a household income of $110,000. My single income is $75,000 and my EFC is $37,000. I pay a mortgage, have two kids. They will get a tax break/writeoff and I will not. Seems unfair. We just want fairness on our hard work. We are not asking for food stamps or free college, just the same as other parents. Being single should not be a punishment and all single people should be upset!!!! Look at the tax tables. You pay more than your married friends. Kids or no kids you pay more. Do you like that? They make more money but pay less taxes. Hmmmmm....Kinda stinks if you ask me.

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It shouldn't matter what you make
by: Anonymous

The only fair tax is to tax everyone the same. If I pay the money to send my child to college, it shouldn't matter how much I make. The credit should be offered to anyone that has to pay the money to send their child to school. I make right at the $160,000 cut off as well. I was never able to take the credit for my older son, and I am not able to take it for my younger son as well. I have never asked for any type of education loan. I should be able to get the credit as well. I worked hard for my money, and I paid my own way through college so I could earn a better living. I should not be punished for trying to do the right thing.

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Tax Credit Cap...really sad
by: Anonymous

I understand and don't agree with the cap either. I am a single dad putting my son through school and missed it by $808. Really bites but i will have to live with cause i was fortunate to make $1200 more this year than last year. WOW there goes my raise.

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I'll take your $80,000, you can have my tax credit
by: Anonymous

I make 20 something a year since the recession, single mom 2 kids on food stamps, oh did I mention I have a master plumbers license, you people should not whine about a tax credit, you should be thanking your lucky stars that you have a job, I've worked 3 jobs at a time and my mom practically raises my kids cuz I have bills to pay, I'll take your 80 grand a year and you can have my tax credit.

Ungratefulness, is not some thing my children learn. They get mad st me for buying them new mattresses for the first time in 9 years cuz as my son puts it, "Mom I don't need you to spend your money like that; I can sleep on the floor." Ha what a kid! We only have 160 bucks in food stamps, which by the way is not fun to use when you have people staring at you in the line when you are paying. No one wishes to be poor! No one wants this life! No one wants their children to grow up like this! At least Obama is trying to help! More that Bush did; I lost my job during his reign, the job that made $4000 a month. Good luck to all of us single moms and dads, I understand, I appreciate you, and some day when I finish school I will employ you!

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people are crazy
by: Anonymous

If you make 80,000 or more quit your crying. Either pay their tuition or have them claim themselves as dependent and stop taking the tax credits for claiming them on your taxes. The kids will get their loans, you’ll keep your (above $80,000) yearly income instead of paying their tuition. If I made over $80,000 a year I would be more grateful and shut my mouth that I get paid a lot and wonder why I don’t get tax credits for the people how scrape by to survive. What is really wrong is that the people making more than $80,000 and posted about getting screwed by the governments tax credit caps are greedy; shame on you and others like yourself. If you grew up with nothing and now have a good paying job; then quit asking for handouts that YOU DON’T NEED ANYMORE!!!

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Try working two jobs before you whine
by: Anonymous

Try being in our situation. We both worked two jobs to get ready for my husband to start college. That's four jobs for two people. That extra income kept us from getting even subsidized student loans for college and we couldn't take any tax credits on education or student loan interest, even though working just one 40 hour a week job each would have put us at just maybe 85k total.

So, the people that sat back and worked just the bare minimum, paid less in taxes (and a lower percentage on their income) and took all the credits, deductions, grants and subsidized loans...while we were labeled those "evil rich people" and paid for everything.

Our tax system doesn't take into account how hard you worked or how many hours you worked, so it's easy to punish the person who worked 80 hours a week, while rewarding the person who worked part time or not at all...by choice!!!

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No Kidding!
by: Anonymous

Once again, you get screwed by doing the right thing (working hard - 2 jobs)! We just found out, that we are in the same position - working hard, paying our bills and doing the right thing! We get nothing for college for our daughter - as compared to people that we know, who's income is (more than ours)mostly under the table, and they tanked their credit (by choice) - they pay NOTHING for their daughter and she gets more GRANTS because they can't take out loans due to their bad credit. So, she gets a free education and will owe nothing when she is done (unlike my daughter, who has to take out loans - every year)! These same people have went on family vacations every year, bought boats, cars and snow mobiles - and more! I give up - this country sucks! Massachusetts sucks even more - here the politicians want to let illegals go to college for free - while us tax payers pay 100% None of this makes sense! I finally see that by doing the right thing, you get screwed.

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I agree
by: Shell

My husband and I earn over the 160,000 amount, not by much but that is pretty much where we stand. I think we should not cap the tax breaks for student loan repayment.

I'm sure a lot of people will disagree and that's fine but I came from nothing - low social / economic background and I had to (yep go to a community college for my first two years). Later I moved on to college and grad school.

A better educated class will pay more taxes - even if you allow those over 160,000 to get a 4000 tax break -- It's a reward for doing the right thing. Let's not forget that if the government owns your student loan - you are paying back your loans with interest. Where does that interest go? Maybe to help support pell grants and other loan repayment programs. Now go chew on some class envy...

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Where do we stop the line?
by: Anonymous

Where do you want the guideline to stop? If they increase it to 85 thou, the ones earning 86 will complain, if they raise it to 125 thou, the ones earning 126 will complain! There is always someone better off and worse off no matter what! Deal with it!

Yes, the higher income earners SHOULD pay more taxes! It goes by percentage, here comes what we learned in algebra. Do your research on how financial aid is calculated, and apply to colleges that have their own calculating procedure, one that does not use the EFC as the ultimate number.

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Agree with Steve C
by: Timothy P

I definitely agree with Steve C. Go see "Atlas Shrugged" to see what somebody by the USSR wrote some 5 decades ago! Capitalism is a liberation of the human spirit! Socialism ends when you run out of other peoples money.

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not fair at 250K either
by: Anonymous

I have 4 children all 19 and over. I provide all their college education. One child is mentally disabled and will need assistance all his life. I support him, he does not use public services. My ex pays for nothing. I spend about $45,000/year on colleges, which I partly scrimped and saved for as soon as each was born. I get 0 deduction for any of it. Now how is that fair?

A FAIR tax would be fair.

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No Credit at all??
by: Anonymous

So if you earn 81,000, you get nada? But if you earn 80,000, you get the credit. Seems to be a lot of Class envy people on this site. Why don't you work 2 jobs, 70hrs/wk and earn 81,000? Instead, you're happy to feed at the public trough.

*edited for vulgarity

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Quit crying; others have it harder than you.
by: Broke in PHX

Wow! Try earning $30,000 a year and supporting two kids with no additional money and going to college....then we can talk. Quit your crying and have your kids go to community college for the first two years and then to the university. That is what I have to do to make it work.

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Stop Crying
by: T-Rex

Too bad, stop crying and deal with it. There are dual income families out here that both bring way less than $80k combined, sometimes less than half of that. That was what this credit was designed for to help those families. Also, I don't want to hear you cry about the single mom stuff if the father is alive. It's not the government nor the tax payers fault if you messed around with a deadbeat. The father would still be paying child support if he was involved.

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Get nothing for succeeding
by: Steve C

In response to the single mom:
I have been going through this for years. I make right around $100K. Apparently, I'm considered rich?!? Pay all my child support, paid back my student loans, and pay for my kids tuition. But I have received ZERO year after year for all of these extra tax credits and refunds. You are rewarded with everything (free food, free healthcare, free housing) if you do not work hard and get yourself an education, which is the proven way to get a higher salary. I went to college and got zip. Time after time, I get 'phased' out. I'm sure they'll screw me out of Social security too, even though I pay more into the system. I'm sick of this socialist tax code and the communist wealth redistribution. What happened to working hard and keeping what your earn? Why do I have to pay higher taxes?

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College Tuition
by: Anonymous

I am currently a college student and I have been living independently and paying my own college expenses since I was 18. There is no reason that a lazy child should be free-loading off of their parents' hard work. Kick the kids out of your house and force them to become responsible, productive adults. That way, they will be the ones worrying about the deduction. I firmly believe that the deduction was created to assist college students who are struggling to support themselves at the beginning of their earning curve; not the parents who choose to handle a grown adults finances for them.

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Penalty for working
by: Boots1100

It isn't at all fair to be penalized for working hard to earn a higher wage.

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80-90K?
by: Anonymous

You are making 80-90K! That is a good chunk of change in this economy. Count your blessings and stop complaining!

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Give your kids some responsibility
by: Anonymous

If your "children" who are legal adults at 18 stop depending on 50% or more of your income, then they will be able to file their own taxes and claim themselves as dependent. By doing this they will become eligible for the refund (assuming they make less than 80,000), be able to act like the adults they are supposed to be, and give you the opportunity to start saving for your retirement.

That's just an idea--yes it means they will be paying for their own tuition, but trust me, they'll be better off for it!

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Education Tax Deduction
by: Anonymous

I agree with the single mom here. I too am a single mom and because we worked to move up the corporate ladder, long hours sometimes seven days a week....we are cut off at $80,000.00. If I made less, I wouldn't be able to afford the tuition! Then again, my son would qualify for loans and grants. How does the government justify this?

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Not fair when your income is just above $80,000-$90,000 mark you get NO tax deduction

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Not fair when your income is just above $80,000-$90,000 mark you get NO tax deduction