FIELDS v. COMMISSIONER

T.C. Summary Opinion 2001-35

UNITED STATES TAX COURT

EDWARD M. FIELDS, Petitioner v.
COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent

Docket No. 17174-98S. Filed March 20, 2001.

James Charles Frooman, for petitioner.

Gary R. Shuler, Jr., for respondent.

CARLUZZO, Special Trial Judge: This case was heard pursuant

to the provisions of section 7463 of the Internal Revenue Code in

effect at the time the petition was filed. Unless otherwise

indicated, subsequent section references are to the Internal

Revenue Code in effect for 1995. Rule references are to the Tax

Court Rules of Practice and Procedure. The decision to be

entered is not reviewable by any other court, and this opinion

should not be cited as authority.
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Respondent determined a deficiency of $2,593 in petitioner’s

1995 Federal income tax. The issue for decision is whether

petitioner is entitled to deduct, as trade or business expenses,

tuition costs and related expenses incurred in attending the Golf

Academy of the South.

Background

This case was submitted fully stipulated, and the stipulated

facts are so found. Petitioner resided in Mason, Ohio, at the

time the petition was filed.

During 1995, petitioner was employed in a variety of ways.

According to the stipulation of facts, he “worked full time in

construction and was self-employed as a golf instructor and

worked at golf courses in the pro shops.”

Beginning in 1994, petitioner enrolled as a student at the

Golf Academy of the South (the academy). The academy is

accredited as a business school by the Accrediting Council for

Independent Colleges and Schools, Washington, D.C.; it is

licensed by the State Board of Independent Postsecondary,

Vocational, Technical, Trade and Business Schools, Florida

Department of Education. Successful graduates of its 2-year

program are awarded a specialized associate degree in business.

Courses offered by the academy are approved for the training of

veterans and persons eligible for VA educational benefits.

Subject to certain conditions and limitations, the academy
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accepts educational credits earned at other accredited

educational institutions. Credits earned at the academy are

transferable; according to its catalog, “Academy graduates can

expect to earn a bachelor’s degree in two academic years” at

another educational institution.

While at the academy, petitioner took the following courses:

Semester Courses

1 Introduction to Business
Microcomputer Applications
Attitude and Motivation Assessment
Business Writing
Golf Fundamentals
Short Game and Putting Techniques

2 Elementary Accounting
Automated Pro Shop Management
Golf Shop Management
Golf Club Design and Repair
Health Science
Small Business Management
Club Fitting and Merchandising

3 Financial Management
Verbal Communication Skills
Turf Management
Methods of Teaching
Advanced Rules of Golf
Planning and Org. of Tournament Golf
Anatomy, Exercise, and Biomechanics

4 General Business Law
Advanced Microcomputer Applications
Sports Psychology
Food and Beverage Purchasing Control
Country Club Management
Golf Course Design and Irrigation
Teaching Laboratory
Clinic Planning
Advanced Golf Techniques
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In April 1995, petitioner was awarded a specialized associate

degree in business from the academy. At the time, he held no

other undergraduate degrees.

During 1995, petitioner paid tuition costs and related

expenses of $9,986.43 incurred in connection with his enrollment

at the academy (the education expenses). On a Schedule C, Profit

or (Loss) From Business, included with his timely filed 1995

Federal income tax return, petitioner: (1) Listed his principal

business or profession as “golf instructor”; (2) reported gross

income of $2,010; (3) deducted total expenses (including the

education expenses) of $16,297.52; and (4) reported a net loss of

$14,287.52.

In the notice of deficiency, respondent disallowed the

education expenses deducted on the Schedule C, because petitioner

failed to establish that the expenses were “ordinary and

necessary”. Other adjustments made in the notice of deficiency

are not in dispute.

Discussion

On the Schedule C included with his 1995 return, petitioner

deducted the education expenses as trade or business expenses

paid in connection with his employment as a golf instructor. In

general, section 162(a) allows a deduction for all ordinary and

necessary expenses incurred in carrying on a trade or business.

Expenditures made by an individual for education that maintains
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or improves the skills required by the individual in the

individual’s trade or business are deductible as ordinary and

necessary business expenses. See sec. 1.162-5(a), Income Tax

Regs. No deduction is allowed, however, if the education is part

of a program of study that will lead to qualifying the individual

in a new trade or business. See sec. 1.162-5(b)(3), Income Tax

Regs. Expenditures made for education that is a part of a

program of study that will lead to qualifying an individual for a

new trade or business are not deductible, even if the education

maintains or improves the skills required by the individual in

the individual’s trade or business, because those expenditures

“are personal expenditures or constitute an inseparable aggregate

of personal and capital expenditures”. Sec. 1.162-5(b)(1); see

also sec. 262.

Petitioner points to the stipulation that during 1995 he was

self-employed as a golf instructor. According to petitioner,

the course of study he pursued at the academy did not lead to

qualifying him in a new trade or business, but it did maintain or

improve the skills required of him as a golf instructor. The

manner in which petitioner’s skills as a golf instructor were

maintained or improved is not specifically addressed. We are

invited to conclude that they were, if only from inferences drawn

from our general knowledge regarding what a “golf instructor”
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does and the nature of the courses offered by the academy, as

described in its catalog.

Respondent, although not necessarily agreeing that the

education maintained or improved petitioner’s skills as a golf

instructor, argues instead that the education expenses are not

deductible because the education leads to qualifying petitioner

in a new trade or business. Relying heavily on information

contained in the academy’s catalog, we agree with respondent.

As a successful graduate of the academy, petitioner was

awarded a specialized associate degree in business from an

educational institution accredited by the Accrediting Council for

Independent Colleges and Schools, Washington, D.C., and licensed

by the State Board of Independent Postsecondary, Vocational,

Technical, Trade and Business Schools, Florida Department of

Education. Some of the courses that petitioner took while

attending the academy no doubt maintained or improved his skills

as a golf instructor, but other courses were directed more to a

general business education. “If the education qualifies the

taxpayer to perform significantly different tasks and activities

than could be performed prior to the education, the education

qualifies the taxpayer for a new trade or business.” Kersey v.

Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1993-641 (citing Glenn v. Commissioner,

62 T.C. 270 (1974)), affd. without published opinion 50 F.3d 15

(9th Cir. 1995). As the type of degree awarded to petitioner
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suggests, petitioner’s education at the academy, which included

numerous business courses, qualifies him for trades or businesses

other than that of golf instructor.

We also find it significant that upon being awarded an

associate’s degree from the academy, petitioner could, as the

catalog states, “expect to earn a bachelor’s degree in two

academic years” at another institution. Simply put, the

educational expenses here in dispute were incurred in the course

of obtaining a basic undergraduate degree, even if many of the

courses directly related to petitioner’s trade or business at the

time. We think it is axiomatic that in the case of an individual

who holds no prior undergraduate degrees, a college education

leads to qualifying that individual for a variety of new trades

or businesses. Cf. Carroll v. Commissioner, 51 T.C. 213 (1968),

affd. 418 F.2d 91 (7th Cir. 1969).

In this case, we find that the education expenses were

incurred in the course of study that would lead to qualifying

petitioner, who held no prior undergraduate degrees, in trades or

businesses other than as a golf instructor. It follows that the

education expenses are not deductible, and we so hold.

Respondent’s adjustment in this regard is therefore sustained.

Reviewed and adopted as the report of the Small Tax Case

Division.
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On the basis of the foregoing and to reflect the agreement

of the parties on other adjustments,

Decision will be

entered under Rule 155.