Can You Tell If These Tax Deductions Are Legit?

Not all write-offs pass muster with the IRS.

Take a look at these frequently asked tax questions from our readers. See if you can separate the legitimate deductions from the ones that would trigger a "no" from the IRS.

1. You accept a new job that requires you to move. Can you write off moving costs even if you don't itemize?

TRUE: But, to qualify, your new workplace has to be at least 50 miles farther from your old home than your old job was.

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2. You are volunteering as a carpenter to a non-profit community home-builder. Nice tax deduction, right?

FALSE: There is no deduction for the value of your time or labor donated to a charity.

3. Your children attend private elementary and high schools. Is their tuition tax-deductible?

NO: You can't deduct the cost of elementary or secondary school tuition. But Coverdell Educational Savings Accounts offer a tax break to help.

Rebecca Dolan
Contributing Writer, Kiplinger.com
Before joining the Kiplinger team as Online Community Editor in 2013, Rebecca was associate travel editor at the Huffington Post, where she also handled the travel section's social media. She landed at AOL/HuffPost after earning an MS in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School, with a concentration in health and science journalism. Prior to that, she covered lifestyle at Jacksonville Magazine, in Jacksonville, Fla., preceded by a stint at American Cheerleader magazine. She holds a BA from the College of William and Mary.