Nurse-Out Duels IRS Over MBA Tuition.
source: http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108550/nurse-outduels-irs-over-mba-tuition?mod=taxes-...
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- remanns
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A Maryland nurse accomplished two rare feats in her battle with the Internal Revenue Service: She defended herself against the agency's lawyers and won, and she got a ruling that could help tens of thousands of students deduct the cost of an M.B.A. degree on their taxes.
The U.S. Tax Court handed Lori Singleton-Clarke her victory last month, saying the 47-year-old Bryantown, Md., woman had properly deducted nearly $15,000 in business school tuition. The Tax Court ruling should make it easier for many other professionals to deduct the expense of a Master in Business Administration degree.
After getting word of the court decision, "I nearly yelled the roof off the house," Ms. Singleton-Clarke says. "I still can hardly believe it."
The IRS's rules on deducting work-related tuition are complicated and onerous, ultimately preventing most students from deducting their tuition. But this case clarifies the rules and will likely lead to more taxpayers taking the deduction, tax experts say.
Few taxpayers decide to go toe to toe with the IRS as Ms. Singleton-Clarke did, arguing her case without a lawyer. For good reason: In 2009, individuals won only about 10% of about 300 such cases, according to data from Tax Analysts. Ms. Singleton-Clarke fought her case in Tax Court, a venue where taxpayers don't have to pay the contested tax before going to trial. The court has a special procedure for small cases.
Some of the losers, such as several dozen tax protesters who defended the filing of frivolous returns, were tilting at tax windmills. Others were simply on the wrong side of the law, including a horse enthusiast who wanted to deduct his hobby losses, an unsuccessful comedian who tried to classify his expenses as business losses, and an attorney who claimed over $100,000 in medical deductions for his visits to prostitutes.
http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/108550/nurse-outduels-irs-over-mba-tuitio...
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nursediesel
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Some one that has had enough and has the brains and the brawn to take them on. I hope this helps other students. Continuing ed. is a prerequisite to renewing your RN licenses so that, too, should be deductible. I'm thinking most institutes handle in house ed. for nurses but the government sure makes it difficult for even CPA's to know all the changes and what the hell the wording means.
I sometimes wonder if they sub-consciously know it's too difficult for most to understand. Like Medicare paperwork they send to the elderly, it so confusing sometimes it brings them to tears and indignation.
Thanks for the up lifting site, remanns. - 2 years ago
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nursediesel
