To be tax deductible, a professional certification (like that for engineering) must be for education that maintains or improves the
taxpayer’s skills; or be an expense that meets legal or employer-imposed requirements for the
taxpayer to maintain his or her current employment, status, or pay level.
Nondeductible expenses would include those for education necessary to meet an employer’s minimum requirements for a new position; or expenses that qualify the taxpayer for an entirely new trade or business.
So, your question really revolves around the following: are you already working in the engineering field? If so, then yes, your online classes and books, as well as the exam fees, could be tax deductible as an unreimbursed employee business expense.
To deduct employee business expenses, you must have enough itemized deductions in total (such as medical, mortgage interest, property taxes, charitable giving, ect.) to exceed your Standard Deduction for your filing status. If you itemize deductions, then your deduction for otherwise unreimbursed employee business expenses is limited to the extent that it exceeds 2% of your Adjusted Gross Income.
Even if you do not meet these hurdles, if your online study course was offered for academic credit, at an accredited institution, then you may separately be able to claim those costs as a educational tax credit (i.e, American Opportunity Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit).
So, you may or may not gain a tax benefit; it will depend on the foregoing discussion.
Thank you for asking this important question.
