I earned $90K in 2012, and took a graduate online class from an East coast university. My tuition and fees are $22K, of which $7K was reimbursed by my employer. Can I deduct the rest ($15K) in my itemised business deductions? Am I overqualified for form 8917 to deduct tuition and fees?:
Are you single or married? If married you can still use tuition and fees up to
160k of modified AGI, and lifetime learning credit up to 124k.It looks like the courses were taken to improve your skills in your current job. If true, then you can deduct them also as a Schedule A expense subject to 2% of AGI -- you can deduct the amount above 2% of your AGI. This deduction is not allowed under AMT, so check if AMT applies to you (it likely does not at less than 175k of income).
You can then also add other 2% deductions like tax preparer fees, unreimbursed employee expenses, etc that people often don't get to deduct because of the 2% rule.
I think it's possible to also use the tuition and fees for part of the amount (ie. for the first 2k of expenses) and Schedule A for the rest, although this is irrelevant to you.
If the education was to maintain and improve the skills required in your current job, then you can take a deduction in the miscellaneous section of Schedule A (Itemized Deductions). The total of this Miscellaneous section is reduced by 2% of your adjusted gross income. You should refer to IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education available at
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