Six Types of Deductible Continuing Education

In this article we would like to talk about continuing your education as a business professional. There are many things you can do to learn more about your trade, and many of them are also tax deductible, so they can save you money in the long run. So let's talk about six types of continuing education that are deductible on your taxes.

1. College classes. Taking college classes to improve or maintain your business is tax deductible for your business. The cost of tuition, books, class fees, materials and supplies, and the gas or mileage to get there are all deductible.

2. Seminars. Throughout the year there are many seminars put on by many different organizations on many topics. Most of them charge a fee to attend. Some give credit if your type of professional license requires it and some do not. But regardless of whether credit is given or not, if it is a seminar about something that can help you as a business owner, it is considered continuing education. The fees to attend and travel expenses are all deductible.

3. Trade shows. A trade show is a show that has vendors with products and services that can help your business. The most common trade shows are in the construction industry, but there are many other types of trades and businesses that have them. Attending these shows helps you to keep updated on current products that can be helpful to your business. Again the entrance fees and travel expenses are deductible.

4. Vendor sponsored events. Businesses you work with or purchase product from sometimes sponsor events. Sometimes they are to promote their product or service and sometimes they are just helpful events to get you to like them. Either way the goal of the event is to teach you something. These events are often fun as well as informative, but they are still considered continuing education and the same things are deductible.

5. Conferences. As accountants, we attend a conference sponsored by the IRS every year in order to obtain credits to keep our license current. This conference is never closer than 600 miles away. They have them all over the country, so we always choose the one that is the most convenient for us. There are many types of conferences for many types of businesses. Conferences generally have classes you can attend about various subjects pertinent to your profession. They also often have a banquet and networking sessions to help you connect with others. Sometimes there are even sightseeing excursions you can take advantage of. Conferences can be both informative as well as fun and definitely fall into the continuing education category. Many people take their families with them and do fun things in the evenings or in between conference sessions.

6. Educational events you sponsor for your employees. It is important to keep your employees educated and informed as well as keeping moral up. Many companies hold events for their employees for those purposes. Some have a weekend retreat and some go on a cruise. The most important thing about this is to have some sort of training experience while at the event. Anything the company pays for such as transportation, food, lodging, or educational materials is tax deductible for the business. Anything the employee pays for is deductible to the employee.

We Need Better Education to Train People for New Jobs, but Isn't That Corporate Welfare

It is interesting that in the United States, all the politicians tell us that they are going to help provide more jobs for Americans. The first thing they point to is the notion that Americans are not qualified and trained, or educated properly for the new jobs in the new era of our growing economy and fast-paced innovative world. The reality is there is always new innovation, and the jobs do change, and therefore the training must also change. What bothers me about these podium pushing politicians that get up there and tell us these things, is that to pay for this, they wish to raise our taxes.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to pay anymore taxes, and I don't like the inefficient way that our state and federal government runs its affairs. It's a bloated bureaucracy and it is highly inefficient. Maybe the government needs to go back to training, and maybe the politicians need to get a life. Secondly, and I have another comment, and this one is more serious. Do you know why politicians whether Republican or Democrat always claim that the problem is education, and to get more jobs, we need more money in education?

It's simple, because the teachers unions are supported by the Democrats. And many of the corporations support the Republicans. The corporations would love to have all of their labor pre-trained and ready to work the day they start. And they would love for someone else to do it. The teachers of course would like to have lots of work, guarantee employment, and excellent benefits.

Today, we spend more money per child in education than any other country in the world. Yes, we have one of the best educational systems around the globe, but as far as costs are concerned, we aren't doing it as efficiently as we should.

Maybe we need to train ourselves to be more efficient, rather than training employees to be more prepared to go to work in future corporations, at the expense of the taxpayer. You see, it is corporate welfare to train people for vocational jobs, and to train them for anything more than the bare minimum needed to work in these corporations. And what about the small businesses pay so much in taxes, so that education can train people to work for their corporate competitors, thus, limiting the labor supply and causing a hardship for them?

Further, it is totally unfortunate to keep raising tuition costs on college students, making an economically enslaved the day they graduate, meaning they will be loyal employees at those corporations, because they can't leave.

One of the problems in modern corporations today is that the labor force moves from job to job too quickly, the average person changes jobs every 2.3 years. The corporations would like to keep them longer, although they tend to lay them off, when they are no longer needed during the business cycle downturn, or to improve their stock price. If corporations want employees better trained to do those jobs, then they need to be the ones paying for it.

Next, we need competition in education, and no more free rides. Further, the federal government needs to get out of the education business, and stop telling communities in school districts how to teach. If the federal government knew how to teach people how to do things, that they wouldn't be so screwed up themselves - are you starting to see my point? If anyone in the world, and I'm talking anyone on the Internet has a problem with what I'm saying, you may shoot me an e-mail, but be sure to come with your facts and research, because I have mine, and it is solid as a rock.

Earn a Faith Based Education From a Lutheran College Online

One of the major principles of the American Founding Fathers was the belief in a separation of church and state. This belief stretches across all sectors of American life including public education. However, the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. It is possible to find an education that is true to your faith and the tradition of your church by attending a Lutheran college.

There are roughly 44 Lutheran colleges and universities in the United States and Canada; and all of them offer students the chance to pursue a higher education that is founded upon the values and beliefs of the church. There are even chances for students to earn an education through an academic institution online, opening the chance for an education to even more individuals in more locations.

Lutheran colleges don't offer a different education from that of their public university counterparts, but they do have a different emphasis. The goal of these online colleges is to provide students with an education that nurtures their faith in the Spirit of God. Students at online colleges are provided with an education in an environment that views them as separate individuals of faith, not just numbers on an attendance sheet.

Many academic institutions of this type are capable of providing small class sizes, often with student-to-teacher ratios that hover around 10-to-1. Earning an education from a Lutheran college online provides a student with even more personalized education, even if they are rarely on campus. The goal of an online education is no different; with a curriculum that is still founded in the beliefs and values of the Lutheran church, online degrees are simply offered through different mediums and with a far less focus on specific times.

If you think a Lutheran college education is too expensive, you should reconsider. Although tuition rates at some schools may be higher than other, larger public institutions; it does not mean that it is out of reach for most individuals. Many colleges offer students financial aid, with some schools reporting as many as 80% of their students receiving tuition assistance. Because these colleges focus on providing students with a solid education in a timely manner, students often finish their degrees faster than their public university counterparts.

Before you settle for any higher education, give some thought to the type of education that will make you a better person spiritually as well as mentally.