## Facts

- Ann Jorgensen worked as a high-school English teacher and English department chair; her duties included teaching and addressing cultural diversity topics.
- In 1995 and 1996, she attended University of California, Berkeley Extension summer programs consisting of formal academic coursework abroad, including programs in Greece and Southeast Asia.
- The programs included organized instruction and academic requirements; Jorgensen participated actively and used the coursework to develop curriculum and improve classroom discussions about culture.
- Her employer did not require the courses, and no law required them to maintain her position, status, or salary.
- She claimed unreimbursed employee business-expense deductions for education and travel: $5,574 (1995) and $7,805 (1996), including $240 for two extra hotel nights beyond the scheduled 1995 course period.
- The Commissioner disallowed the deductions, asserting the expenses were nondeductible “travel as a form of education” under I.R.C. § 274(m)(2) and, alternatively, not deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses under I.R.C. § 162.

## Issues

1. Whether the foreign travel expenses were nondeductible “travel as a form of education” under I.R.C. § 274(m)(2).
2. If not barred by § 274(m)(2), whether the education and travel costs were deductible as ordinary and necessary employee business expenses under I.R.C. § 162(a) and Treas. Reg. § 1.162-5.
3. Whether discrete costs not tied to the course schedule (including two extra hotel nights in 1995) were deductible or personal.

## Decision

- The court held that I.R.C. § 274(m)(2) did not apply because the travel was incidental to bona fide, structured academic courses rather than travel where the trip itself constituted the education.
- The court largely allowed deductions under I.R.C. § 162(a) and Treas. Reg. § 1.162-5 because the coursework maintained or improved skills used in Jorgensen’s existing teaching job and did not qualify her for a new trade or business.
- The court disallowed amounts attributable to personal travel components, including the two extra hotel nights in 1995.
- The deficiencies were to be recomputed to reflect partially allowed deductions.

## Legal Principles

- I.R.C. § 274(m)(2) denies deductions for “travel as a form of education,” but does not necessarily bar travel undertaken to attend structured academic coursework where travel is merely incidental to instruction.
- Work-related education expenses are deductible under I.R.C. § 162(a) and Treas. Reg. § 1.162-5(a) when the education maintains or improves skills required in the taxpayer’s current trade or business (even if not required by an employer).
- Education expenses are not deductible if the education meets minimum educational requirements for qualification in the taxpayer’s current position or qualifies the taxpayer for a new trade or business. Treas. Reg. § 1.162-5(b).
- Even when a trip is primarily connected to deductible education, personal deviations (extra days or side travel) must be separated and are nondeductible.

## Conclusion

The Tax Court permitted most of a teacher’s foreign study travel and education expenses because they were tied to formal coursework that improved skills used in her current employment, and the statutory bar for “travel as a form of education” did not apply; however, costs attributable to personal extensions of the trip were disallowed and the deficiencies were recalculated accordingly.


Jorgenson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2000-138, 79 T.C.M. (CCH) 1926 (2000)