Deductions For Education

Question

We have two questions in regards to education fees and whether they are tax deductible.

Question 1) One of our clients is arguing that his 3-year university fee should be a deductible expense as he won’t be able to derive income without the 3-year study. However, the 3-year university study sounds more like a personal expense to me. Are these costs deductible?

Question 2) We have another client who is working in a law firm. He is currently working toward obtaining a certificate from the Law Society. Is the education cost incurred to obtain a certificate deductible?

Answer

Answer 1) Education costs for an individual are private in nature and not tax deductible.

Answer 2) The costs for the client working towards a certificate from the Law Society would be tax deductible for the law firm but not the individual.