Can I Deduct Continuing Education for My Job?

Keeping your skills current through courses and certifications is important, and in many cases those education costs are deductible. Self-employed workers can deduct education costs that maintain or improve skills required in their current profession as a business expense. Employees who are not reimbursed for continuing education generally cannot deduct those costs under current federal law. The education must relate to your current work, not to training you for an entirely new career. If your employer offers a tuition reimbursement program, taking advantage of that is usually the better tax outcome since the reimbursement can be excluded from income up to a limit.