The cost of a personal computer is generally a personal expense that is not deductible. However, if the school includes the cost of school-supplied computers as part of the cost of tuition or as a fee required for attendance or enrollment, and bill students for computer software that students cannot obtain elsewhere, your expenses may qualify as an expense towards either the Lifetime Learning Credit or Hope Credit. For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, Chapters 2 and 3.

Deductible educational expenses include amounts spent for tuition, books, supplies, laboratory fees, and similar items. They also include the cost of correspondence courses, as well as formal training and research you do as part of an educational program. Transportation and travel expenses to attend qualified educational activities may also be deductible. For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education; Chapter 12 and Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses.

In some cases, you may be able to deduct the cost of classes you need for work. This deduction, however, would be subject to the 2 percent of AGI limitation, along with most other miscellaneous itemized deductions you list on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions.

For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, and Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses.

If you are eligible to deduct educational expenses and are also eligible for the lifetime learning credit, then it is possible to claim both, as long as you do NOT use the SAME educational expenses to claim both benefits. Your may want to allocate some of your expenses to the deduction and others to the credit. This is sometimes desirable because a qualifying expense for one benefit may not be a qualifying expense for the other tax benefit. For example, the cost of course-related books ordinarily qualifies for the deduction, but not for the lifetime learning credit. For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education; Form 8863 (PDF), Education Credits (Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits); and Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses.

If your graduate school tuition is deductible and the reimbursements are included in your income as wages, you may take the expense as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF), Itemized Deductions. You may also need to attach Form 2106 (PDF), Employee Business Expenses. For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, Chapter 12; Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses; and Form 2106 (PDF), Employee Business Expenses.

Employees, generally, must complete Form 2106 (PDF), Employee Business Expenses, or Form 2106-EZ (PDF), Unreimbursed Employee Business Expenses, when job-related educational expenses are involved. Educational expenses are deducted as miscellaneous deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A (PDF),Itemized Deductions. Alternatives to educational expense deductions should also be considered, such as the Lifetime Learning and Hope Credits, as discussed in Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, Chapter 2 and 3.

Self-employed individuals include educational expenses as deductions on Form 1040 Schedule C (PDF), Profit or Loss From Business; Form 1040, Schedule C-EZ (PDF) Net Profit From Business; or Form 1040, Schedule F (PDF) Profit or Loss From Farming. For more information, refer to the forms, instructions, and publications listed above plus Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses, and Tax Topic 605, Education Credits.

The maximum deductible interest on a qualified student loan is $2,500 per return.

There is no deduction if you file as married filing separately, if you are claimed as a dependent, or if the loan is from a related party or a qualified employer plan. There are limits based on your filing status and adjusted gross income. For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, and Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses .

In order for a taxpayer to claim a deduction for student loan interest, the loan must be incurred for the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse, or a person who was the taxpayer's dependent when the taxpayer took out the loan. Since you were not your parents' dependent when they took out the student loan, the interest they paid on the loan does not qualify for deduction. However, the student loan interest payments you made on the student loan you took out on your behalf are eligible for deduction, provided all the other requirements are met. For more information, refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, Chapter 4; Tax Topic 505, Interest Expense; and Tax Topic 513, Educational Expenses.

Expenses that qualify for an education credit are qualified tuition and related expenses required for enrollment or attendance at an eligible educational institution. An eligible educational institution includes most accredited colleges, universities, vocational schools, or other post-secondary educational institutions eligible to participate in the student aid programs administered by the Department of Education.

Qualified expenses do not include expenses student activities, athletics (unless the course is part of the student's degree program), for room and board, insurance, transportation, or similar personal, living, or family expenses. The cost of books and equipment are generally not qualified expenses because eligible educational institutions usually do not require that the cost of the books or equipment be paid to the institution as a condition of the student's enrollment or attendance at the institution.