Are graduation fees, such as diploma, ceremony, gown rental, sash, graduation dinner, graduation photos, etc, considered to be qualified education expenses and thus are qualified for education tax credit?
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Fees
No way. Fees charged by the school are only qualified education expenses if they are required.
The cap and gown and dinner and everything are optional activities. The student will graduate, and get their degree, without all that.
The diploma might arguably be an educational expense, but even there, I don't think so.
If you complete all the requirements, the college awards the degree to you, whether you order a fancy diploma or not.
A transcript, or certain other documents, can be used to verify that you have the degree. It may even be a matter of public record. Most universities publish a list of graduates and the degrees awarded, both in print and on their website.
The purchase of a diploma, or, for that matter, ordering a transcript, which also incurs a fee, is not required in order to complete the program and get your degree. You may need to pay for a document (a diploma or a transcript) in order to be able to prove that you have the degree. But that doesn't transform it into an educational expense.
Now if the school actually charges a fee to process the graduation and award the degree, then that might be a qualified educational expense.
BMKBurton M. Koss
koss@usakoss.net
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The map is not the territory...
and the instruction book is not the process.
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