<p>Both my D and my neice are in health profession programs which require students to have a certain number of unpaid hours working under a licensed professional. They can't be formally accepted to the professional portion of their programs without them (they are still at the undergrad level). Both incurred travel/mileage to do this fieldwork, as well as other costs for medical testing which their preceptors required. Is this considered a qualified education expense for tax purposes (ie. as a required course expense) or is there anyplace to deduct this expense on their tax returns? Should they treat it as a volunteer position and use the lower mileage rate? Similarly, D was required to join a professional organization by one of her profs (who is also the dept head)...it was a $75 fee and she would like to treat that as a qualified expense, but I'm unsure of that too! I'd love to know how other people have approached these items as I generally file both of their (1040A) returns...thanks!</p>
<p>I’m interested too – D’s major requires an international internship with a non-profit or NGO, meaning that we have to pay for travel and living expenses as well as the cost of a summer school course through which she gets credit for the internship.</p>
<p>Bump it up.</p>
<p>Hey, did you ever find any information on possible tax deductions for your neice’s health care fieldwork? I’m in the exact same situation and I can’t find anything on the internet that gives me a clear answer. Thanks!</p>
<p>Nope. It went into the void.</p>
<p>My son also has to do an internship which is required through his stipend. What I figured is that it isn’t qualified education expense, but could be considered miscellaneous itemized deductions. Unfortunately, that won’t be enough for him to itemize.</p>
<p>Same with your idea of treating it as a volunteer position and deducting the mileage. Unless they already itemize, it won’t be enough.</p>
<p>arabrab and sk8rmom: Are you saying that the student would have enough deductions to itemize?</p>
<p>(posting at the same time - 3bm103 is right)</p>
<p>Well, probably not in my D’s case. I was hoping I could offset some her grants and scholarship with internship/professional fees as a qualified education expense but that doesn’t look feasible at all.</p>
<p>My niece has something similar.
She didn’t receive a w2 but a 1099 for the earned income. My sister’s accountant had her file a Schedule C-- this allowing my niece to deduct many of the expenses you note and lowered the taxable income considerably.</p>
<p>Well, since these were unpaid internships/fieldwork, there is neither a related W-2 nor a 1099 on the horizon for these girls. Just the 1098s I’m expecting from their schools…and I already know that both will have to pay taxes on their excess FA since they both had paying jobs as well. I’m not complaining though and we’re very thankful that they have both the jobs and the FA!</p>
<p>I am thinking that none of it will be qualified educational expense, since those only apply to fees paid to the school and a (very) few other things.</p>
<p>But having now read IRS Publication 526, I am still confused. If D is an intern volunteering for a US-based charity, and we pay D’s expenses (since she is our dependent), can we deduct the cost of her travel and local living expenses? (Similarly, if D was a delegate to our church’s regional youth conference, and we pay her fees, can we deduct that? If H or I were attending, the answer is clearly yes. Child – not so clear.) Instead of answering useful questions like that, let’s see what they do go into great detail on:</p>
<p>Expenses of Whaling Captains</p>
<p>You may be able to deduct as a charitable contribution the reasonable and necessary whaling expenses paid during the year in carrying out sanctioned whaling activities. The deduction is limited to $10,000 a year. To claim the deduction, you must be recognized by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission as a whaling captain charged with the responsibility of maintaining and carrying out sanctioned whaling activities.</p>
<p>Sanctioned whaling activities are subsistence bowhead whale hunting activities conducted under the management plan of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission.</p>
<p>Whaling expenses include expenses for:</p>
<p>Acquiring and maintaining whaling boats, weapons, and gear used in sanctioned whaling activities,</p>
<p>Supplying food for the crew and other provisions for carrying out these activities, and</p>
<p>Storing and distributing the catch from these activities.</p>
<p>Because everyone knows that there are really a lot more whaling captains out there than students volunteering for nonprofits. Sigh.</p>
<p>LOL! Thank you for that extremely enlightening information! I was think the same as I was reading the myriad of IRS pubs the other day…imagine that someone gets paid to sit there and write all these examples that apply to almost no one! Who hires these people and why? I think the IRS should take a lesson from the FAFSA people…just put it online with skip logic so we don’t all have to wade through the mire of useless information!</p>
<p>Does anyone who’s interested in the deductibility of these expenses use a paid preparer? I have to visit a CPA soon for some other work and may have to run it by him…will let you know what he says.</p>