| Topic Name: |
Is my MBA Tax Deductible |
| Message Name: |
job v profession |
| Date Posted: |
05/07/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
You guys are intelligent people. But you guys don't know taxes. You said:
"Education expenses are deductible on your 1040s if (MBA education) is used to enhance the skills necessary for your CURRENT JOB, and if the job after that training is the same (in terms of skils) as the one you had before the training...It's even in turbo tax."
You have the correct law. BUT, according to the law you just stated, MBA tuition is NOT deductible. Notice that you need to have a CURRENT JOB. What this means is that being a full time MBA student disqualifies you from deducting your tuition. Furthermore, only your employer (and you can be your own employer) can deduct your tuition.
Turbo Tax may allow you to deduct educational expenses ONLY in your schedule C (Business schedule), which, let me say it for the FIFTH time, is the ONLY way you can possibly deduct your tuition.
Finally, just because someone is ignorant of the tax law and deduct their tuition and get away with it, that does NOT mean it is legal nor in accordance with the Tax Law. So I don't are if 10,000 people have done this and got away with it. It is STILL not legal.
Joe
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| Message: |
I believe the current job statement is interpreted to mean current profession. So it doesn't matter that you are necessarily employed at a job, all that matters is that before and after school you utilize the same skills. The more the skills synchronize, the better case you have.
You can say it as many times as you want, but turbo tax ALLOWED me to deduct the expenses on my schedule A.
BTW, if everyone or a lot of people are able to get a break on taxes and not get audited by the IRS, it probably means that your interpretation of the tax code is incorrect and that the IRS shares our interpretation. Practically speaking I have not heard of one person being forced to give back the deduction. Out of the all of the MBAs I've come across, you'd think that someone somewhere would have heard of a case and warned against it.
Basically the law isn't black and white all of the time. I think your interpretation of the law is too narrow.
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