For TurboTax-Type Families
People shouldn’t have to hire an accountant to file their annual taxes, but taxes are more complicated every year, and families who use online services or software to help them may not be getting what they need to collect the Wisconsin K-12 private school tuition tax deduction, WCRIS has learned.
It appears from WCRIS research that some software and online tax filing programs do not actively account for the state private school tuition tax deduction, so eligible tax filers may NOT be getting the deductions they should, leaving millions of allotted money for state tax deductions unused.
Private school principals can help bridge the gap and WCRIS urges them to do so.
Principals can: coach their parents to be relentless about filing for the deduction; fill the software and online message boards with questions about how to do it; and, call the 1-800 number to leave a question and request a reply back before the tax filing deadline.
The deduction can save families around $240 per elementary student and around $600 per high school student.
Based on WCRIS research, it seems as if software and online tax preparation users may have to purposefully seek out a specific screen to access information about the deduction. We scoured online tax filing forums and could not find more information about accessing the deduction.
Efforts to reach human contacts about the problem were equally fruitless. In conclusion, it seems as if online tax filing services may be programmed to calculate the deduction, but may not be helpful in prompting customers to file for it.
Thus, principals continuous and consistent education about the deduction is important. It is not apparent where else parents would learn about the deduction if it were not for WCRIS and our school administrators.
Some accountants are likely aware of the deduction, but not every family is privileged enough to hire an accountant to prepare their tax returns, leaving software and online options as one of their limited options.
But some large accounting firms still aren’t proactively asking families if their children attend a private school to claim the deduction, WCRIS has also learned. Remind your families that they should still submit their completed form to their accountant, even if they’re not explicitly asked for it.
