Accounting Manager Could Deduct Costs of Pursuing Executive MBA Degree

(Parker Tax Publishing August 2016)

The Tax Court held that a finance and accounting professional was entitled to deductions under Code Sec. 162 for costs incurred in his pursuit of an executive master of business administration degree. The court found that the degree did not qualify him for a new trade or business, and that the degree was not a prerequisite for his job. Kopaigora v. Comm'r, T.C. Summary 2016-35.

Background

Alex Kopaigora began working for Marriott International Corp. in 2002 as an accounting manager. In June 2006, Kopaigora accepted a position as senior assistant controller for the Marriott hotel in Los Angeles International Airport (Marriott LAX), where he was responsible for managing a team of employees, reviewing employee performances annually, participating in hiring activities, and training employees. Kopaigora's duties included preparing financial reports, creating budgets, analyzing financial data, producing forecasts to enable reaction to business changes, and monitoring different departments' performances. Additionally, Kopaigora conducted audits, prepared an accounting of taxes, prepared financial reports according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), enforced internal controls, reconciled balance sheets, and ensured compliance with reporting requirements.

In July 2010, Kopaigora enrolled in the executive master of business administration (EMBA) degree program at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah in order to improve his leadership skills in corporate finance and management. Kopaigora worked at Marriott LAX on the weekdays and traveled to Salt Lake City every other weekend to attend classes at BYU.

In April 2011, while Kopaigora was still working towards his EMBA degree, his employment with Marriott was terminated. Despite this setback, he continued to pursue his EMBA degree at BYU and looked for full-time employment within the corporate finance and accounting field as a controller, assistant controller, senior manager, vice president, or director.

Kopaigora graduated from the EMBA degree program in August 2012 and, in September, he was hired as vice president of finance of a small financing company. As vice president, Kopaigora was responsible for overseeing department managers, managing and leading a team of employees, supervising employees in daily issues of accounting, cash, risk, and business operations, and participating in hiring and training. Additionally, Kopaigora was responsible for auditing, accounting for taxes, setting up monthly reporting according to GAAP, and enforcing internal controls.

On his 2011 joint return, Kopaigora claimed an $18,879 deduction for his EMBA degree expenses, which included charges for his EMBA tuition, airfare between California and Utah, meals, and mileage. Following an examination, the IRS disallowed these deductions.

Analysis

Code Sec. 162 requires a taxpayer to be presently engaged in a trade or business in order for education expenses to be deductible. Reg. Sec. 1.162-5(b) disallows a deduction for education expenses for: (1) education required to meet the minimum requirements of a taxpayer's trade or business, or (2) a program of study leading to the qualification of a taxpayer in a new trade or business. If the taxpayer can show that neither of the disqualifying factors applies, Reg. Sec. 1.162-5(a)(1) provides that the taxpayer can deduct the education expenses if the education maintains or improves skills required by the taxpayer in his or her employment or other trade or business.

Before the Tax Court, Kopaigora argued that he was entitled to deductions for his education expenses because he was established in the business of corporate finance and management before beginning his pursuit of an EMBA degree, he continued to be established in this business during his temporary unemployment, and his EMBA degree did not qualify him for a new trade or business. The IRS argued that Kopaigora did not carry on his trade or business through the 2011 tax year because he was unemployed for an indefinite period, the EMBA degree was a general degree that did not maintain or improve specific skills required for his employment, and the degree qualified him for a new trade or business.

The Tax Court determined that the facts supported Kopaigora's argument, and held that the expenses he incurred to obtain his EMBA degree were deductible as unreimbursed employee expenses under Code Sec 162.

When Kopaigora enrolled in the EMBA degree program, the court said, he was a well-established finance and accounting business manager at Marriott LAX. The court noted that he managed the hotel's financial operations and auditing departments, he was responsible for large groups of employees from various backgrounds and specializations, and he made sure the hotel's business practices were in compliance with GAAP. When his employment was abruptly terminated, the court found, he continued to take courses at BYU that improved his managerial and leadership skills - skills that were appropriate and helpful to his position as a business manager. The courses Kopaigora chose to fulfill his degree requirements, the court said, did not qualify him for a new trade or business because he was not qualified to perform new tasks or activities with the conferral of his degree. Instead, the court stated, Kopaigora chose courses in a line of study that he was familiar with - management and finance. The court determined that even though Kopaigora took a few courses that were outside that scope, those courses by themselves could not have prepared him to enter a new trade or business.

In addition, the court noted that Kopaigora's unemployment did not prevent him from continuing his trade or business as a finance and accounting business manager for purposes of Code Sec. 162. The court found that after Kopaigora's employment at Marriott LAX was terminated, he actively sought employment within the corporate finance and accounting field for the remainder of his time at BYU, and his active job search paid off. Although Kopaigora was hired after he graduated, the court found nothing in the record suggesting that the degree was a prerequisite for the job.

For a discussion of the deductibility of work-related education expenses, see Parker Tax ¶ 85,110.

Disclaimer: This publication does not, and is not intended to, provide legal, tax or accounting advice, and readers should consult their tax advisors concerning the application of tax laws to their particular situations. This analysis is not tax advice and is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for purposes of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on any taxpayer. The information contained herein is general in nature and based on authorities that are subject to change. Parker Tax Publishing guarantees neither the accuracy nor completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for results obtained by others as a result of reliance upon such information. Parker Tax Publishing assumes no obligation to inform the reader of any changes in tax laws or other factors that could affect information contained herein.

Parker Tax Pro Library - An Affordable Professional Tax Research Solution. www.parkertaxpublishing.com

We hope you find our professional tax research articles comprehensive and informative. Parker Tax Pro Library gives you unlimited online access all of our past Biweekly Tax Bulletins, 22 volumes of expert analysis, 250 Client Letters, Bob Jennings Practice Aids, time saving election statements and our comprehensive, fully updated primary source library.

Try Our Easy, Powerful Search Engine

A Professional Tax Research Solution that gives you instant access to 22 volumes of expert analysis and 185,000 authoritative source documents. But having access won’t help if you can’t quickly and easily find the materials that answer your questions. That’s where Parker’s search engine – and it’s uncanny knack for finding the right documents – comes into play

Things that take half a dozen steps in other products take two steps in ours. Search results come up instantly and browsing them is a cinch. So is linking from Parker’s analysis to practice aids and cited primary source documents. Parker’s powerful, user-friendly search engine ensures that you quickly find what you need every time you visit Our Tax Research Library.

Dear Tax Professional,

My name is James Levey, and a few years back I founded a company named Kleinrock Publishing. I started Kleinrock out of frustration with the prohibitively high prices and difficult search engines of BNA, CCH, and RIA tax research products ... kind of reminiscent of the situation practitioners face today.

Now that Kleinrock has disappeared into CCH, prices are soaring again and ease-of-use has fallen by the wayside. The needs of smaller firms and sole practitioners are simply not being met.

To address the problem, I’ve partnered with a group of highly talented tax writers to create Parker Tax Publishing ... a company dedicated to the idea that comprehensive, authoritative tax information service can be both easy-to-use and highly affordable.

Our product, the Parker Tax Pro Library, is breathtaking in its scope. Check out the contents listing to the left to get a sense of all the valuable material you'll have access to when you subscribe.

Or better yet, take a minute to sign yourself up for a free trial, so you can experience first-hand just how easy it is to get results with the Pro Library!

Sincerely,

James Levey

Parker Tax Pro Library - An Affordable Professional Tax Research Solution. www.parkertaxpublishing.com