Tax Benefit on Children’s School Fees
With less than two months to go to make tax-saving investments under Section 80C, most people will be rushing to buy insurance products or mutual funds that some distributors or agents will try to sell to them. But before you try to fill up your 80C requirements with rushed investments, do remember that the school tuition fees paid for your children’s education are also an eligible 80C deduction.
The Income Tax Act allows you to get tax benefits on school fees of two children. This deduction is applicable for individual citizens, but not for HUFs. The tax benefit can be claimed by both parents for two children each. Hence, if you are paying the school fees for more than two of your children, you can claim benefits while filing the IT returns for yourself and your spouse. The benefit is available in case of divorced couples, an unmarried parent as well as for an adopted child.
This is one of the most basic tax deduction that parents should avail. A lot of parents, in the rush of making last-minute tax-saving investments, forget about this deduction. Surprisingly, a lot of people are not even aware of this deduction under Section 80C. In the mix of investments and insurance products that are promoted and sold heavily, this deduction is easy to miss. But since this is an expense that you have already made, it should be one of the first 80C deductions that you avail of.
Deduction under section 80C can be claimed towards school fees or tuition fees paid for the education of your children. A maximum deduction of Rs 1,50,000 is available within the overall limit of Section 80C.
This deduction can be claimed by an Individual. The deduction can be claimed for maximum 2 children. It is allowed on the amount which is actually paid in the year.
The educational institution must be situated in India for the deduction to be allowed.
Eligible Payments – Here are all the school fees that can be claimed as deduction –
- Play school fees
- Pre-nursery fees
- Nursery class and higher classes fees
- University, college or other educational institution fees
Payments that are not allowed – The following payments towards the child’s education are not allowed to be claimed as a deduction –
- Part time courses
- Coaching classes or private tuitions
- Distance learning courses
- Donation to an educational institution
- Development fees
- Hostel fees
- Late fees are also not eligible.
Comments
Post a Comment