Depreciation on $15K training program, web design and support

[Karenmama]

I spent $15K on a training program for Real Estate investment which includes Web design, and 3 months of support.  I know I can expense the annual renewal for subscription to software, but can I depreciate the training program? over how many years?

[Carl]

No, you can't depreciate it. It's not a physical asset that you can touch, and it's not something that you use on a recurring basis to produce income.
Besides, the last thing you want to do is depreciate anyway. Remember, depreciation is not a permanent deduction. When you sell or otherwise dispose of the business, all prior depreciation is recaptured in the year you sell or otherwise dispose of the asset and you pay taxes on that recaptured depreciation. The depreciation recapture also increases your AGI which has the potential to bump you into the next higher tax bracket.

If it's a qualified expense, then you have to claim it in the tax year it's incurred. Otherwise, you can't claim/deduct it at all. Overall if this is a program you purchased to learn about the subject matter, it's not a deductible expense at all.

[KarenM90 · Accepted solution]

It depends.

If these expenses occurred prior to you opening your doors for business, the whole package (training, web design and support) could be considered a start up cost, amortized over 15 years.  $5000 of these costs can be expensed in the first year of operation.

If your business is operating, I recommend that you expense the training and web support currently, and capitalize and amortize the Web Design portion over 3 years.

[Karenmama]

Thanks for the answer.  Actually these are startup costs and can be depreciated over 15 years.  Sorry I was not clear in the first place. 

[AmeliesUncle]

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@Karenmama wrote:

Thanks for the answer.  Actually these are startup costs and can be depreciated over 15 years.  Sorry I was not clear in the first place. 

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Just a warning ... education to get into a new line of work is NOT tax deductible.

[Karenmama]

This would be training to better my skills and access better software supporting our business.