Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line employees

Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by adolph on Thursday September 09, 2021 @11:55AM (#28471076)

I wonder what the tax implications are for employees. A limit at my employer's education reimbursement program is said to be about a threshold over which the reimbursement becomes taxable.

Edit: Here is a claim that is similar:

As stated above, any amount of tuition reimbursement that exceeds $5,250 is considered a fringe benefit of the job, and the employee will have to pay taxes on that amount. However, if an employee is taking a class related to their job or career, they can declare that their tuition is a work-related expense, thus making it tax-exempt. However, the employee should be prepared to prove that each class they take helps them improve at their job and benefits the company. Otherwise, the money will be considered taxable income.

https://study.com/academy/popular/is-tuition-reimbursement-t...

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by darthvoldemort on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:08PM (#28471239)

When my tuition was reimbursed almost 20 years ago, it was at that $5250 level. I'm shocked that the limit hasn't increased, given that tuition everywhere has more than doubled since then.

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by sangnoir on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:33PM (#28471549)

It'snow worse that it was 20 years ago, IIRC, the Trump "tax cuts" rewrote tax code on benefits that impact tuition - university students who worked part-time for their school and got part of their tuition paid in return were suddenly on the hook for taxes on the cash equivalent of their tuition "fringe benefit". Students don't have a lot of cash, so that was a massive burden.

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by robotsteve2 on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:46PM (#28471718)

That didn't end up happening.

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by sangnoir on Thursday September 09, 2021 @02:27PM (#28472954)

You are right: I did not remember correctly[1]

1. https://www.1040.com/tax-guide/faq/did-president-trump-s-new...

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by lotsofpulp on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:03PM (#28471190)

Is tuition reimbursement treated differently than Amazon paying the school directly?

> Pre-paid fees. Amazon will pay employees’ tuition and fees in advance rather than offering reimbursement after coursework completion, ensuring employees don’t need existing funds to start accessing the education options they want.

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by twoslide on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:07PM (#28471236)

I don't think it matters how the payment is made. Trump's former CFO is now facing charges for having his grandkid's tuition fees paid, but not declared as compensation. It's a bit different, but comparable.

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Re:Amazon to pay full college tuition for its front-line emp... by lotsofpulp on Thursday September 09, 2021 @12:21PM (#28471405)

It seems the limit is $5,250, unless the education qualifies as a "working condition benefit":

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15b#en_US_2021_publink1000...

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