Conference 7.286::digital

    .0

     iam confused on this too. iam talking career related courses (grad
    too) but this time i got taxed on them (i.e. taxes where taken from
    them plus the other stuff (social security?), i could swear before
    these were not taxed . i could swear that on the other courses i took
    before (same thing) i did not get the check-slip for them like i 
    did for these ones and i did not pay taxes on them.

    i wanted to go check with my PSA too sometime but i been so busy
    with all and things like that.

    i dont know if this helps or not but i hope it helps.

    \bye
    \nasser
    ps. let us know what you find out too on this.

    I believe that there are other topics in this notesfile that provide
    background for this. I believe what has happened is something like
    this:
    
    	A law permits these courses to be paid untaxed.
    	It typically expires at the end of the previous year.
    	It typically gets reinstated around the end of the current year.
    	In the past, I've been taxed and reimbursed as the taxed amount was
    		considered withholding, but the course payment was deducted
    		from income.
    	There's no guarantee that law will get reinstated every year.
    
    I believe that your PSA should be able to explain the above to you more
    accurately.
    
    michael

    If you recall filling out the application for the funds for the course,
    there were three boxes, of which you(or your manager) had to check one:
    
    	o the course is required for the person to do their current job;
    
    	o the course is to give the person skills that will allow them
          to do a new job;
    
    	o the course is not work related;
    
    (The words aren't exact quotes, just my interpretation of their
    meaning.) Only if the box checked is the first (i.e. current job
    related) is the money non-taxable. If you didn't have your manager sign
    the form with box 1 checked, you're liable for income tax on the money. 
    
    Check with personnel. They can explain precisely what the rules around
    this are. I've been taking employer-sponsored classes for a while now,
    and I've always covered myself by writing a note to my manager arguing
    how what I'm going to learn in the new class is "required" for me to do
    my current job better. This stuff is so subjective, it isn't hard to do
    that.
    
    Regards,
    Alan

The Application for Education and Training Tax Status section says:

"Answer the following two questions.  If you answer either of the questions 
'yes', check the 'taxable' box below.  Otherwise, check the 'non-taxable' box
below.

1. Does this course or degree program prepare the employee for a position 
within a new trade or business?

2. Is this course required to satisfy the minimum educational requirements for 
the employee's current job or trade or business?"

My graduate program is an M.S. in Software Engineering - course stuff includes
analysis & design, project management, quality, CASE, databases ..... lots of
what I do now.  So, for me, #1 is No.  Also, since I was doing my job before 
I started the program, getting the degree is not a requirement for my current
job, so I answer No to this ... and the course is approved as non-taxable by
all the higher-ups that have to sign the application.

Doug

    
    I checked it out last year for my income tax forms.  Aside from the
    boxes the previous noters mention, there is also a minimum amount
    that the company pays before it counts a taxable income.  Check it
    out with your PSA who'll have all the current details.
    

    re: .5
    
    I think that you mean a maximum amount and that it's around 5+K$.
    
    michael

    I have recently signed up for a course that was considered taxable. My
    previous courses (last year) were considered non-taxable. From what I
    understand, there was a federal stating that you would not be taxed for
    the first $5000 (?) of education. This law only existed for a year and
    each year was renewed for the next. When George Bush left the
    presidency, he did not sign this bill and Bill Clinton did not sign it
    when he came in. Therefore, it now matters whether you put "taxable"
    or "non-taxable" in that column. The $5000 limit no longer applies.
    
    I'm surprised that people are still taking courses. I thought Digital
    was really clamping down on reimbursement for external courses. I
    thought the course had to be part of a job required/career related
    DEGREE program. I'm going for a CERTIFICATE. I don't know if Digital
    will reimbursement me now. If not, I'll have to pay for the remaining
    two courses myself. OUCH!
    
    Any info on certificate reimbursement would be greatly appreciated.