How to Get a Tax Deduction for Driving School Tuition
Most people who take courses at a driving school have no idea about the possibility of a partial refund of the money spent on tuition. Let’s talk about who and how you can get a state tax deduction from a driving school.
Table of Contents
Who can get a tax deduction
To get back some of the money for training at a driving school, it is necessary to have a permanent registration and official employment.
The situation with individual entrepreneurs is different. They do not pay income tax, accordingly, and the tax deduction will not be able to get.
If with their own training we figured out, then what about the training of third parties? Is it possible to, say, teach children and get some of the money back from tuition? Yes, but there is one legal nuance. It is mandatory that the contract be in the name of the working parent, who pays income tax. If you are going to teach your 18-year-old child, the contract with the driving school draw up in your own name as a parent.
How much you can get back
The tax deduction is 13% of the amount spent. Expenses, for which the money is refunded, should not be more than 120,000 rubles per year.
Let’s say that during the year you are going to pay tuition for 40,000 rubles at a driving school and undergo a medical examination for 140,000 rubles. In fact, you will spend 180,000 rubles, but the deduction will only be issued from 120,000 rubles.
The maximum amount from which you will receive compensation for a child’s education is 50,000 rubles. As a rule, tuition at a driving school does not exceed this amount.
Having carried out the calculation, we find out what the amount of reimbursement will be. As a rule, training in a driving school costs 30,000 rubles. Let’s find 13% of this amount. The refund amount will be 3,900 rubles.
What documents are needed to get a tax deduction
The list of necessary documents includes:
- passport;
- A contract with a driving school;
- A license of the driving school (if the driving school operates without a license, its students will not be able to receive a tax deduction for training);
- A receipt confirming payment of tuition;
- Certificate of birth of a child (if your child’s tuition is refunded);
- 2-NDFL certificate of income for the year when tuition payment was made;
- Declaration 3-NDFL for the accounting period, during which the services of the driving school were paid;
- Application for personal income tax refund (specifying the amount of deduction and bank details of the account to which you would like to receive funds).
The seventh point we will pay special attention. The 3-NDFL declaration is the document in which the information about the taxes you paid during the year is reflected. Such a declaration allows the tax authorities to calculate the tax deduction you are entitled to under the law, for example, for paid education. To get a deduction, you need to file a 3-NDFL return no later than three years after you received your taxable income.
How to file a 3-NDFL return
Firstly, you can use the services of the tax office (FTS) at the place of permanent registration of the person on whom the deduction will be issued. Secondly, you can make a declaration at your place of work. To do this, contact the accounting department.
Note that graduation in that year is not a mandatory criterion in either case. The main condition is the fact of payment of tuition from the taxpayer’s personal funds.
The means which you will return for training in a driving school, it is possible to invest in purchase of the car. How to choose a car, we tell in detail in section “Purchase of the car”. And in the blog we present detailed reviews and comparisons of cars.
If you have already decided on a model, check the car’s history by VIN or license plate number. A detailed report will reflect the following information:
- Whether the car has been in an accident;
- Whether it needs to be repaired;
- What is the real mileage;
- Whether the car has a duplicate certificate of ownership and any restrictions from the State Traffic Police;
- whether the car is stolen or pledged;
- Whether there are any unpaid fines.
You will know the truth about the car you like and you won’t buy a problem car.
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We also advise you to check the owner of the car through a special service before concluding a sales contract. Checking will show if the seller has any problems with the law, if his passport is valid, and if there are any debts and enforcement proceedings. If you discover any serious problems, it is better to refuse to close the deal. View a sample report
How do I claim a tax deduction for tuition at a driving school?
The social deduction provides reimbursement of part of the expenses incurred during training. At the same time, according to Article 219 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, this type of expenses can be due to the study of both the applicant himself, and his children/wards, and brothers/sisters. In order to take advantage of reimbursement of expenses not for one’s own education, a number of conditions must be met:
- The child/caregiver, sibling/sister must not be more than 24 years of age;
- the form of education must be full-time;
- the educational institution must have a license to provide educational services.
If all these conditions are met, the father/mother (guardians) or brother/sister of the student can get a tax refund, including for expenses on the services of driving schools. But the refund amount cannot exceed 6,500 rubles (50,000 rubles to the personal income tax deduction x 13%).
Important! An individual may claim a deduction for the education of his child / brother / sister, and for the year in which they were 24 (letter from the Ministry of Finance of 28.08.2012 № 03-04-05/8-1010).
On the features of the deduction for a student studying on a fee-paying basis, see the article “You can get an individual income tax deduction for a student “fee-paying””.
As for the right to a refund of personal income tax when an individual receives a deduction for tuition for himself, a number of restrictions are removed. If there is income from which tax was withheld at the rate of 13%, it is enough to confirm that the educational institution has a license. So a physical person can get a tax refund no matter how old he is and what form of training – full-time or part-time, including driving courses. The maximum refund amount in this case is 15,600 rubles (120,000 rubles x 13%).
For information on what income cannot be deducted from personal income tax, see the article “Income not subject to personal income tax (2014-2015)”.
What documents are needed for the deduction
If a taxpayer receives a deduction for children/brother/sister, he fills out a 3-NDFL form and attaches the following package of documents to it:
- 2-NDFL certificate;
- A contract with a driving school;
- proof of payment;
- a certificate about the form of education;
- Birth certificates for children (for deductions for a child), brothers/sisters and your own (for deductions for a brother/sister).
Important! To avoid disputes with the tax authorities, the contract and payment orders should include the name of the deduction applicant (letters of the Ministry of Finance of Russia from 13.09.2013 № 03-04-05/3788, from 28.10.2013 № 03-04-05/45702).
When claiming a deduction for their own education, a physical person also fills out a 3-NDFL and submits to the FIRS:
- 2-NDFL certificate;
- An agreement on taking a driving course;
- Payment documents confirming payment of tuition fees.
Procedure for reimbursement of personal income tax on expenses for training in a driving school
This package of documents is submitted to the tax authorities after the end of the year in which the expenses were incurred. Where a 3-NDFL declaration is submitted only for the purpose of claiming a deduction, the deadline for submitting it, which is limited to 30 April, does not apply. Documents can be submitted throughout the year.
Upon receipt of these documents from the applicant, the IRS conducts a tax audit within 3 months, at the end of which a decision is made within 1 month on the tax refund / non-refundability. In case of a positive decision the claimed deduction amount is transferred to the bank account of the individual.
Results
Having paid for driving courses, an individual income tax payer may reimburse part of the amounts paid for training. Tax can also be refunded on the cost of training for close relatives under the age of 24. However, for such reimbursements, the procedure for documenting and substantiating these expenses must be followed.
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