Are Your MBA/Graduate School Expenses Tax Deductible?
What does this typically mean?
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Your graduate study must not be required simply to meet the minimum educational qualifications of your employer or profession. For example, medical school is required to become a licensed physician, law school is required to become a registered attorney. Is an MBA a required minimal educational qualification? In most cases, it is not.
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Your graduate study must not qualify you for a new trade or business. Unless you were in a position without any managerial and/or business duties prior to studying for your MBA, an MBA does not qualify you for a new trade or business.
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Your graduate study program should be perceived as helping you to maintain or improve your skills in your current occupation. The more managerial your position was prior to entering an MBA program, the more an MBA is perceived as helping you maintain or improve your skills.
The information portrayed here is for general purposes ONLY, and may not apply to your specific tax situation. We recommend that you consult us to determine the deductibility of your education expenses to ensure accuracy for your specific tax circumstances. See also recent Wall Street Journal article and recent court case regarding deductibility of MBA expenses.
Deductible Expenses
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Tuition, books, supplies, lab fees, and similar items
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Certain transportation and travel costs
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Other education expenses, such as costs of research and typing when writing a paper as part of an educational program
Please refer to
MBA Tips regarding documentation for your education expenses.
Nondeductible Expenses
You cannot deduct personal or capital expenses. For example, you cannot deduct the dollar value of vacation time or annual leave you take to attend classes.
