Not to be nosey, but I'm so curious about this. I know someone who is a teacher. Not for anything, but their tax refund is enormous! I mean, I know 6 figure people coming out with these kinds of refunds and I was told they don't make near 6 figures.
I've been considering going back for my second master's so I can teach in NY. I felt for a long time that taking additional student loans was a bit of a financial hardship. However, I got significantly less - almost even owed the state... of a tax refund and my salary is close to that of a teacher, but I'm just a salaried corporate worker for a large company. I know teachers get great state benefits and pension, but are there amazing write offs/deductions too?
What am I doing wrong? Are there special tax deductions that only teachers qualify for? I'm not trying to be nosey - but maybe the additional loan would be worth the money? I even had write offs for things like job searching and my current student loan (that thankfully offset my second p/t job which almost led to my owning some $).
Just curious. I keep saying that I'm too poor to go back to school - but seriously - maybe that's the one occupation that would be worth it...
vintagegirl
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Re: NWR - Teachers
LOL the only tax breaks that I got this year was the $250 out of pocket expenses that I used to pay for supplies.. and my school loans.. Now if I take masters classes and pay out of pocket for that I can write that off also.. I don't know of anything else..
Mrs.Ptobe
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Re: NWR - Teachers
Posted by GettinHutched
I am sure she's not considering going into teaching for JUST the tax break alone....she was just curious about it. Like she said, she was considering going back to school anyway.
Thank you - that is exactly right. I would never do something just for a tax refund... my concern is I already have about $30k in student loans - sorry but I also wouldn't be able to handle adding more loan debt and not getting some sort of financial or other perks to ease the additional burden. I didn't say I wanted to teach only for this reason. Teaching has been on my mind for about 10 years. I always justified NOT doing it b/c I was so concerned about the debt I already have from school and other things. Thank you all for the info though - clearly the accountant makes a difference and I don't think mine did a good job this year - not just b/c of the amount but b/c I think there were things I could have deducted that he said I couldn't and it didn't make sense, but whats done is done... thanks again!
GettinHutched
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Re: NWR - Teachers
Thank you - that is exactly right. I would never do something just for a tax refund... my concern is I already have about $30k in student loans - sorry but I also wouldn't be able to handle adding more loan debt and not getting some sort of financial or other perks to ease the additional burden. I didn't say I wanted to teach only for this reason. Teaching has been on my mind for about 10 years. I always justified NOT doing it b/c I was so concerned about the debt I already have from school and other things. Thank you all for the info though - clearly the accountant makes a difference and I don't think mine did a good job this year - not just b/c of the amount but b/c I think there were things I could have deducted that he said I couldn't and it didn't make sense, but whats done is done... thanks again!
Student loan debt STINKS. I feel your pain. Going to a state school really isn't all that bad tuition wise...I went to CUNY Hunter College to get my masters (as I was working an office job in the city) and I guess I have about 7K left in loans from that...nothing in comparison to my undergrad (that school was friggin' highway robbery). But there are payment plan options as you go through school- I used tuitionpay.com in my first semester before I decided to go with loans. There are options!! Good luck and let us know what you decide to do! Making a career change was the best thing I ever did - teaching is way more fulfilling for me than anything I've ever done!
FM me if you have any questions...I was in the same position as you a few years ago!
Shmar
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Re: NWR - Teachers
I've also been thinking about going back for my Master's in Teaching HS Math. I currently have my MBA and just feel it hasn't done much for me. I love my job and stuff, but I just feel like this is something I want to do. I always wanted tog et my PhD in Marketing, but I think I'll start with teaching HS.
Does anyone know any HS Math teachers I could talk to?
Thanks!
DavaDay
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Re: NWR - Teachers
I'm a teacher and my tax refund is SICK - I'm gonna use this year's and next year's combined to pay for my wedding, and it'll cover about 1/3 of the wedding (I know!). But this is because:
1) I claim Single/0 dependents so they take out more money from my check every week. So during the year I pay WAY TOO MUCH in taxes, and I get a nice lump sum back at the end of the year; and
2) I pay for a good accountant. Sure, she costs over $200 for the 20 minutes of work she does on my file, but to pay that and get lots of money back is so much better than doing it on my own and only getting like $1000 back.
Like many teachers our age, I go to grad school and have loans, so that means I get money back. A lot of expenses are deductible, like Union dues, transportation, etc. It all adds up.
Becoming a teacher for a tax refund is just silly, and I don't think anyone was saying she wanted to do that. Tax refunds come to a person of any profession who pays too much tax during the year. It's money you've already paid. I mean, if you get $4000 back, it's not like the government is paying you because they like you; it's because you've ALREADY paid like $7000 a little at a time with every paycheck, but only owed $3000, so they return you the amount you've overpaid.
Danigrl28
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Re: NWR - Teachers
My husband is a teacher and I have to say it didn't make a difference on our refund. Who knows, maybe we are doing something wrong.
MrsD06
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Re: NWR - Teachers
ok, I will be the 100th person to say that there aren't so many 'extra' deductions for teachers... just the $250 for classroom supplies...along with the other stuff that anyone can claim..union dues, student loan interest, tuition, etc.
I only claimed the $250 this year because even with union dues (and I work 2 jobs with union dues) and that 'other' stuff...it would not have even come close to the standard deduction
