Teachers and other eligible educators who buy books, supplies, and equipment for their classrooms can reduce their 2003 income by up to $250 in out-of-pocket expenses, the Internal Revenue Service said in a September 2 news release (IR-2003-106).
As the new year begins, IRS suggested that educators save their receipts and keep a record of qualifying expenses, noting the date, amount and purpose of each purchase.
Eligible classroom items under tax code Section 62(a)(2)(D) include books; computer equipment, including related software and services; supplies, other than non-athletic supplies for health or physical education courses; and supplementary materials, IRS said.
The above-the-line deduction is available to educators in public or private elementary or secondary schools who work at least 900 hours during the school year, IRS said. Eligible educators include teachers, instructors, counselors, principals and aides, IRS said.
For tax years 2002 and 2003 only, the Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 provides a $250 adjustment to income for classroom-related expenses, IRS said. This is scheduled to be the last year for this deduction.
Without this provision, teachers, as employees, generally must treat the cost of classroom items as a miscellaneous job expense, which will provide a tax benefit only when the teacherís total miscellaneous expenses exceed 2 percent of adjusted gross income.
For more information, call the IRS Tele-Tax system toll-free at 1-800-829-4477 and select Topic 458, or read it online at http://www.irs.gov.newsroom.
Government Employee Relations Report September 23, 2003 Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. Washington, D.C.
Dorothy Chu Named to Commissioners of the Quality Education Commission
Past President Dorothy Chu (CCE) was named by Governor Gray Davis to the California Quality Education Commission.
Congratulations Dorothy!
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| October 07, 2003 | ||||||