For purposes of determining whether an employee fringe benefit is taxable to the employee, the same rules apply whether the employers are tax-exempt organizations or private sector businesses. If the employer has an educational assistance plan, then reimbursements up to $5,250 for any higher education costs are tax free. If the reimbursements are for courses that are job related, there is no dollar limit on the tax-free benefit.
Generally, an unmarried person who maintains a household for dependents and is allowed to compute his or her tax based on head of household rates, which are more favorable than single person rates.