Is My School Tuition Deductible?

In general, you are allowed a deduction for education expenses when you satisfy ALL of these requirements:

1.The education was undertaken to IMPROVE skills or gain knowledge for your current position,

2.The education was NOT undertaken to acquire the basic skills and knowledge required to qualify for your present job,

3.The education will not qualify you for a promotion or new position/occupation, even if you choose to remain on your current job, AND

4.The expenses incurred were reasonable for the benefit received.

Expenses connected with seminars about investments or unrelated to your current job are not deductible.

Are costs of obtaining a degree deductible? Except in rare cases, the cost of a degree program would not be deductible. However, the individual courses included in the degree program, which meet the above criteria, could be deductible. (Example: Sally works in retail operations, and is going to school at night to get her college degree. Some of her business-related courses may help her do her present job without qualifying her for a promotion, and could be deductible. However, her liberal arts courses - required for her degree - are unrelated to her current position and would not be deductible.)

Note - see Report on Hope and Lifetime Learning Credits - using these Credits if available could be more of a benefit than deducting your tuition.

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