As a long time reader (and lurker), I would like to tell you a little thing I learned this year...

IF you are in college
IF you pay your own tuition (either in cash or in loans)
IF your parents did not/cannot claim you

THEN...

Your tuition costs/book costs/boarding costs can be deducted from your taxable income, therby keeping Uncle Sam from getting all of your money.

I didn't even pay in taxes this year! Note: if your tuition costs is more than your taxable income, therby bringing your taxable income to less than zero, you do not get any money back...however, not paying any is good enough for me

hbar98

Take out lots of loans (if you don't require a co-signer..if you do, get someone you can trust and is a *very* good friend). I'm talking as much as you can get...

THEN

Declare Bankruptcy (after you buy a lot of stuff with the money) and become an Amish person (cuz they don't pay taxes...)...

However, bankruptcy is very hard to do if you are a student...so this may not work..

(BTW, this was meant to be pointless, stupid, and irrelevant...)

hbar98

hbar98

students paying tuition to go to college full time get a tax credit of a set amount determined by the government. it's not like you actually get to deduct the exact amount of your tuition... else uncle sam would be owning me a refund of around ฝ,000 this year.

as far as it goes for cr0, there's not much he can do. the government makes sure they get their cut. but he should talk to someone about tax-forgiveness, where they basically settle for a fraction of what you really owe if you can't afford the whole amount.

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kuru
'dancing is the vertical expression of horizontal desire.'
-robert frost

I'll pull through.

I owed 񘜼 last year, which I just finished paying off last month... WOOO HOOO!! Unfortunatley, this year I owe ũ,800...

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jim
Beauty is in the eye of the Beer Holder
< Brews and Cues >

as for bankruptcy, you get your credit back after 7 years.

The idividual can't be held accountable for the loss of the corporation. That way you don't fuck over your personal credit history.

Besides all of that, WHAT THE FUCK!!! The money has to be regained somehow. It usually isn't just written off by the lender or persons owed.

You may have meant it as a joke, but what a stupid fucking joke.

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damage@detonate.net

"On a long enough timeline the survival rate for anyone drops to zero."
-Narrator 'Fight Club.'

quote:

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Originally posted by damage:
The idividual can't be held accountable for the loss of the corporation.

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That's not necessarily true. An owner of an unincorporated company takes all responsibility for the financials, as well as the debts. If the company is incorporated, then any shareholder can't be held accountable for more than they put in... otherwise, there wouldn't be investors.

I should know this because we just went over it all a few months ago in Small business and entrepeneurship, but some of the vocabulary and stuff just isn't coming to me... cool class, we barely do a damned thing

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Spydir Web - < http://netsyndrome.net/spydirweb/ >
Net Syndrome - < http://www.netsyndrome.net/ >

Sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the hydrant...

This message has been edited by Spydir Web on March 23, 2001 at 02:56 PM

I think the only time cr0 could get off the hook would be if he were to have 'detonate Corp.' And, that's not easy or cheap.

This message has been edited by Dark Knight Bob on March 23, 2001 at 04:22 PM

I know of one guy who got basically a full-ride because his family was so poor. But, for the most part, my expected family contribution was on the order of like ฬ,000. Not bad for a couple folks making about 170K before taxes and building a new house. So, that pretty much shot that one out the window.

socialism kicks ass.

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A good programmer is someone who looks both ways on a one-way street

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--Jynx

I used to be a kleptomaniac, but then I took something for it.

This message has been edited by Spydir Web on March 23, 2001 at 12:45 PM

might just be north carolina, though...

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Spydir Web - < http://netsyndrome.net/spydirweb/ >
Net Syndrome - < http://www.netsyndrome.net/ >

Sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the hydrant...

Basically, the government lends you the ~AU񙇈 (~USŨ.50) a year to pay your fees. When you get a job, and start earning over about ษ-30k, you pay it back at about 4\% per year.

Thats for undergraduate degrees. For postgrads, its up front fees. Unless you're good like me and get a scholarship. Then they pay your fees, and pay you to study.

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"The theory of gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." - Einstein

This message has been edited by masher on March 24, 2001 at 01:07 AM

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"You've soiled my dickey!"

--Kintara

But I don't care. I won't have to start paying them back for at least another 3 years. I owe about �, and I won't be paying it soon. But if I go overseas to do a postdoc, I won't have to start paying unitl I come back to Oz.

I think that makes sense...

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"The theory of gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love." - Einstein

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When my flying days are over, and my death has come to pass
I hope they bury me upside down, so the whole damn world can kiss my ass

quote:

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Originally posted by j0eSmith:
You think thats bad, its going to cost me about โ,000 CDN for two years of school.
Yes, thats in Canada.

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I actually had a place as a student representative on the 'Cost Committee' which discussed recommendations for tuition and fees. Well, I was in it until junior year, when it was forcibly disbanded. In any event, we were increasing tuition by about 8\% each year. That was until they put in another tier that had incoming freshmen paying a different rate (15.6\% higher than the year before). And then, this last year, they've added another tier and stuff. My head hurts thinking about how convoluted it was.

The biggest problem was that over 75\% of the revenue for the school came from tuition. So, in order for the school to survive, they had to crank up student contributions.

It annoyed me to no end. I was powerless to do anything, even though the place was increasing fees at well over 4 times any index of inflation. Which, I understand why that is, but still. The thing that got me most was that other schools were doing the same thing. Seems like all over.

Prices growing at this geometric rate, we can see it being impossible to get into any good school in just a few short years. Christ, it'll probably cost ุ Gs for a year of school. How are we supposed to keep advancing as a society if we can't afford to be educated. We'll be screwed.

because the government doesn't own the universities.

there are some state schools (like penn state) which have their tuition approved by a board of state trustees, and some schools that are 'state affiliated' (like pitt) meaning that they recieve some state money, but are not under state control. they have x number of members of their board of trustees that are state officials. the tuition for those types is pretty similar. then there are the private universities and colleges (carnegie mellon, washington and jefferson) which recieve no government money directly. they charge 2 or 3 times what a 'state school' does.

the tuitions are determined by the board of trustees and generally go up every year. i've bitched about how much it costs to go to school, but all in all, it's often true that you get what you pay for. new computers, new labs, quality professors, libraries.. that shit all costs MONEY. sure, i could go to say, community college of allegheny county, but then i wouldn't be at an ABET accredited engineering school. i could pay ๠/credit, but i wouldn't be taught by leaders in the r&d field of computers. as it is, pitt, carnegie mellon, and westinghouse are in partnership through the pittsburgh super computer center, which means that i often get taught by carnegie mellon's professors... at pitt prices.

i'm gettin a damn fine education, and though it's expensive, i still think i'm gettin a bargain... most of the time.

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kuru
'dancing is the vertical expression of horizontal desire.'
-robert frost

They do deduct your total tuition/book/housing expenses from your total income. However, I did put in that if the total expenses is more than your taxable income, your taxable income is 0. It does not go into the negative. However, any taxes you might have paid in will be refunded to you.

As far as schooling... I'm screwed by FAFSA cuz my parents make too much. However, I get scholarships and loans to make up for it. This year I'm gonna try to declare myself independant of my parents so the gov't will only look at my income..which is waaaaaayyy low Might even qualify for a Pell Grant!

Oh, and if I did go to Illinois University at Champaign/Urbana (around 30k/year I think..been a while)....with my major as Chemical Engineering w/minors in Biochem...let's say that I wouldn't have to pay much out of pocket (however, I am going into a much more interesting field with Theology/Philosophy)

--hbar98