Education Expense Credit

You may figure a credit for the education expenses you paid during 2005 if you were the parent or legal guardian of a full-time student who was under the age of 21 at the close of the school year, you and your student were Illinois residents, and your student attended kindergarten through twelfth grade at a public, nonpublic, elementary, middle, junior high, high school, or home school in Illinois during 2005.

Your family may include more than one qualifying student, but each family is allowed only one education expense credit.

You may not figure a credit for the education expenses you paid during 2005 if:

• your student attended only daycare, preschool, college, university, independent tutoring service, or a trade school at a public or nonpublic school.
• your student turned 21 years of age during the school year.
• another parent or legal guardian claimed an education expense credit for the same student on his or her tax return.
• you are not the students parent or legal guardian.

Divorced or unmarried parents of a qualifying student, each of whom is a custodian of the student, are considered the family of such student regardless of the marital status or filing status. And, only one credit is allowed per family. This credit is allowed even if the parent has not claimed the qualified students as dependents on his or her tax return.

Qualified Education Expenses

Your education expenses will qualify if the expenses are in excess of $250, and you paid them to the school during the 2005 calendar year. Qualified education expenses include:

• tuition (including summer school).
• book fees covering the use of books that were required as a part of the schools education program.
• lab fees covering the use of supplies, equipment, materials, or instruments that were required as part of a lab course in the schools education program.

For example, if you rented a musical instrument from the school (not from a business) for a class, or for participation in an extracurricular activity that resulted in a credit toward completion of the schools education program, this rental expense qualifies as an education expense.

Education expenses that do not qualify for this credit include:

• expenses paid for the purchase of supplies, books, or equipment that are not significantly used up during the school year, e.g., purchasing musical instruments, costumes for a play.
• expenses paid for athletic equipment if the program does not result in a credit towards completion of the schools education program.
• expenses paid directly to a business, e.g., renting a musical instrument from a music store.

Back