What is the Educator Expense Tax Deduction? And how can it help teachers save on their taxes?
Retirement Daily’s Robert Powell caught up with Jeffrey Levine, CPA and tax pro from Buckingham Strategic Wealth Partners, to answer the question and provide some tax tips for teachers.
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Recommended Read: Tax Tips for Teachers: Deducting Out-of-Pocket Classroom Expenses
Quotes| Tax Tips for Teachers – Educator Expense Deduction Jeffrey Levine, Chief Planning Officer, Buckingham Strategic Wealth Jeffrey Levine, Chief Planning Officer, Buckingham Strategic WealthVideo Transcript| Jeffrey Levine, CPA and Tax Expert, Buckingham Strategic WealthRobert Powell: Are you a teacher and need to know what the Educator Expense Deduction is? Well, here to talk with me about that is Jeffrey Levine from Buckingham Strategic Wealth. Jeffrey, welcome.
Jeffrey Levine: Good to be with you, Bob.
Robert Powell: Good to have you here. And we’ll be good to have you explain what this deduction is.
Jeffrey Levine: Yeah, the Educator Expense Deduction is a deduction that teachers, and principals, and others in school systems are able to take if they have an expense related to their job that is not reimbursed by their employer. And while you’d think if you’re not a teacher, well, surely they get reimbursed for whatever expenses they have. In speaking with teachers over the years, it’s actually amazing how much they spend on classroom supplies and other things that aren’t reimbursed by their employer.
Teachers are some of the most amazing people out there, and they go above and beyond, in many cases, spending dollars out of their own pocket. And the way the tax code will, I don’t want to say reward them, but will at least cut them a little bit of a break, if you will, is by giving them an above-the-line deduction for a limited amount of money, up to $300 to deduct as an above-the-line deduction and reduce their income taxes. Now, unfortunately, whether they spend $300 or $3,000, that’s the maximum amount that they will be able to deduct, $300.
Editor’s Note: The content was reviewed for tax accuracy by a TurboTax CPA expert.
Zach Faulds contributed to the writing of this article and produced the video and/or the graphics associated with it.