In our State, kindergarten is not mandatory. However, the public schools have kindergarten classes and most people send their children to kindergarten. If an employee sends his/her child to private kindergarten, is that considered an eligible expense for dependent care flexible spending accounts? Note: IRS publication 503 states: "Schooling. You can count the total cost of sending your child to school if both of the following are true: 1) Your child is in a grade level below the first grade. 2) The amount you pay for schooling is incident to and cannot be separated from the cost of care."

Our private kindergartens generally do not separate the cost of "care" when billing the parents.

Sandy:

I think that answers your question. If the cost of care can not be separated, then your dependent care $$ should be available for private kindergarten. We had our son in private kindergarten in the mornings and public kindergarten in the afternoons. The private kindergarten was in conjunction with a day care setting (Children's World) and so the care/kindergarten fees were not separated.

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Good Luck!!!
Sheila K 8^)
602 683-1013

Update!

Yesterday I spoke with an attorney at the IRS who said this question comes under her authority to answer.

Her answer to me:

It doesn't matter whether a state requires kindergarten or not. The law is based on the "nature" of the dependent care services provided. If the services are primarily "care" in nature, versus primarily "educational" in nature, then the dependent care services would be eligible. However, she said the IRS generally considers kindergarten "educaitonal" in nature, and, therefore, kindergarten expenses would probably not be considered an eligible expense.

Hope this helps!

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SandiY

I would rely on Publication 503 instead of the oral statements of an IRS attorney.