CPA Journal, A Reexamination of the Deductibility of Graduate Business Educational Expenses, by Homer L. Bates & Bobby E. Waldrup (both of University of North Florida, College of Business):

Recent activity in the courts has increased interest in the deductibility of graduate business educational expenses by the IRS. … A December 2009 Tax Court ruling continued this more liberal interpretation of the deductibility of graduate business education expenses. In the Tax Court Summary Opinion (TC Summ. Op. 2009-182), the court held that a nurse administrator could deduct the nearly $15,000 in tuition incurred in earning an online MBA degree from the University of Phoenix. A further examination of the details of this important opinion, along with previous court decisions, will help advisors assist present and future MBA students in qualifying for this sometimes sizable deduction.