MEMORANDUM OPINION
FEATHERSTON, Judge: Respondent determined deficiencies in the amounts of $789.15 and $1,492.64 in petitioner's Federal income taxes for 1974 and 1975, respectively.
The only issue for decision is whether petitioner is entitled, under section 162 and the Income Tax Regulations thereunder, to deduct as educational expenses the costs he incurred and paid in pursuing a course of law school study that led him to a Juris Doctorate Degree.
All the facts are stipulated.
Petitioner was a legal resident of Lakewood, Colorado, at the time he filed his petition. He filed his income tax returns for 1974 and 1975 with the Internal Revenue Service Center, Ogden, Utah.
In March 1970, petitioner was appointed to a position as Judge of the County Court of Summit County, Colorado. The minimum educational requirement for this position was a high school diploma or its equivalent, and petitioner held a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Texas. At no time during the years in issue did the State of Colorado require county judges of Summit County to have law degrees.
In an effort to improve his skills while on the bench, petitioner enrolled in the University of Denver, College of Law, pursuing a course that would lead to a Juris Doctorate Degree. He was graduated from law school in August 1975 and was defeated in a bid for re-election as a county judge in 1976. He passed the Colorado bar examination, was admitted to the practice of law in 1977, and was engaged in the practice of law at the time of the trial.
In 1974 and 1975, petitioner incurred and paid law school expenses in the respective amounts of $3,276.30 and $6,619, and claimed such amounts as deductions on his income tax returns for those years. In the notice of deficiency issued to petitioner, respondent disallowed the claimed deductions. Respondent contends that the law school expenditures were incurred for a course of study that would qualify petitioner for a new trade or business and, for this reason, are nondeductible.
Petitioner contends that, as a sitting judge in the Summit County Court, he was already in the legal profession and that, therefore, completion of this course of study did not qualify him for a new profession. He maintains that he had met the minimum requirements of the profession and took the course of study to improve his skills as a judge.
Section 162(a) allows as a deduction all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in carrying on a trade or business. Education as a general rule, however, is beneficial to an individual in a variety of ways and for a long period of time, Carroll v. Commissioner, 51 T.C. 213" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1968-10-31" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/carroll-v-commissioner-4481105?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481105">51 T.C. 213">51 T.C. 213" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1968-10-31" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/carroll-v-commissioner-4481105?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481105">51 T.C. 213, 51 T.C. 213" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1968-10-31" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/carroll-v-commissioner-4481105?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481105">51 T.C. 213">216 (1968), affd. 418 F.2d 91" court="7th Cir." date_filed="1969-10-22" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/james-a-and-isabelle-carroll-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-287185?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="287185">418 F.2d 91">418 F.2d 91" court="7th Cir." date_filed="1969-10-22" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/james-a-and-isabelle-carroll-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-287185?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="287185">418 F.2d 91 (7th Cir. 1969), and its costs are basically "personal expenditures, or constitute an inseparable aggregate of personal and capital expenditures." Sec. 1.162-5(b), Income Tax Regs. Accordingly, section 1.262-1(b)(9), Income Tax Regs., provides that expenditures for education are deductible only if they qualify under section 162 and section 1.162-5, Income Tax Regs.
Section 1.162-5(b)(3), Income Tax Regs., provides that educational expenditures are not deductible if they are "made by an individual for education which is part of a program of study being pursued by him which will lead to qualifying him in a new trade or business." The validity of this regulation has been sustained in numerous decided cases. E.g., Weiszmann v. Commissioner, 443 F.2d 29" court="9th Cir." date_filed="1971-04-29" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/ronald-f-weiszmann-and-deborah-c-weiszmann-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-296846?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="296846">443 F.2d 29">443 F.2d 29" court="9th Cir." date_filed="1971-04-29" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/ronald-f-weiszmann-and-deborah-c-weiszmann-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-296846?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="296846">443 F.2d 29, 443 F.2d 29" court="9th Cir." date_filed="1971-04-29" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/ronald-f-weiszmann-and-deborah-c-weiszmann-v-commissioner-of-internal-revenue-296846?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="296846">443 F.2d 29">30 (9th Cir. 1971), affg. per curiam 52 T.C. 1106" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1969-09-30" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/weiszmann-v-commissioner-4481223?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481223">52 T.C. 1106">52 T.C. 1106" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1969-09-30" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/weiszmann-v-commissioner-4481223?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481223">52 T.C. 1106 (1969); Bodley v. Commissioner, 56 T.C. 1357" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1971-09-23" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/bodley-v-commissioner-4481787?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481787">56 T.C. 1357">56 T.C. 1357" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1971-09-23" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/bodley-v-commissioner-4481787?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481787">56 T.C. 1357, 56 T.C. 1357" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1971-09-23" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/bodley-v-commissioner-4481787?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481787">56 T.C. 1357">1361 (1971). Petitioner, prior to taking the law school courses, was not authorized to practice law. Those courses were part of a program of study which led to qualifying him to do so. The regulation thus dictates denial of the disputed deductions.
We do not question petitioner's thesis that the study of law was helpful to him in handling certain aspects of his work as a county judge. But that is not the test. The courts have denied deductions for law school expenses by individuals engaged in a wide variety of businesses or professions even though the study of law may have been helpful in performing duties involving aspects of the work of the legal profession. See, e.g., Melnik v. United States, 521 F.2d 1065" court="9th Cir." date_filed="1975-08-25" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/john-melnik-and-judith-melnik-v-united-states-329718?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="329718">521 F.2d 1065">521 F.2d 1065" court="9th Cir." date_filed="1975-08-25" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/john-melnik-and-judith-melnik-v-united-states-329718?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="329718">521 F.2d 1065 (9th Cir. 1975), cert. denied 425 U.S. 911" court="SCOTUS" date_filed="1976-04-05" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/shape-spa-for-health--beauty-inc-v-rousseve-9000160?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="9000160">425 U.S. 911">425 U.S. 911" court="SCOTUS" date_filed="1976-04-05" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/shape-spa-for-health--beauty-inc-v-rousseve-9000160?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="9000160">425 U.S. 911 (1976); Weiler v. Commissioner, 54 T.C. 398" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1970-03-03" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/weiler-v-commissioner-4481545?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481545">54 T.C. 398">54 T.C. 398" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1970-03-03" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/weiler-v-commissioner-4481545?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481545">54 T.C. 398, 54 T.C. 398" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1970-03-03" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/weiler-v-commissioner-4481545?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4481545">54 T.C. 398">402 (1970); Taubman v. Commissioner, 60 T.C. 814" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1973-08-29" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/taubman-v-commissioner-4482503?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482503">60 T.C. 814">60 T.C. 814" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1973-08-29" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/taubman-v-commissioner-4482503?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482503">60 T.C. 814, 60 T.C. 814" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1973-08-29" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/taubman-v-commissioner-4482503?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482503">60 T.C. 814">815 (1973) (internal revenue agents--accountants); O'Donnell v. Commissioner, 62 T.C. 781" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1974-09-17" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/odonnell-v-commissioner-4482729?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482729">62 T.C. 781">62 T.C. 781" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1974-09-17" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/odonnell-v-commissioner-4482729?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482729">62 T.C. 781, 62 T.C. 781" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1974-09-17" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/odonnell-v-commissioner-4482729?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482729">62 T.C. 781">783 (1974), affd. 519 F.2d 1406" court="7th Cir." date_filed="1975-07-15" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/jossey-v-commissioner-immigration-and-naturalization-service-329199?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="329199">519 F.2d 1406">519 F.2d 1406" court="7th Cir." date_filed="1975-07-15" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/jossey-v-commissioner-immigration-and-naturalization-service-329199?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="329199">519 F.2d 1406 (7th Cir. 1975) (accountant); Grover v. Commissioner, 68 T.C. 598" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1977-07-26" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/grover-v-commissioner-4483338?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4483338">68 T.C. 598">68 T.C. 598" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1977-07-26" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/grover-v-commissioner-4483338?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4483338">68 T.C. 598, 68 T.C. 598" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1977-07-26" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/grover-v-commissioner-4483338?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4483338">68 T.C. 598">602 (1977) (military officer whose duties included service as trial counsel and assistant trial counsel in courts-martial); Feistman v. Commissioner, 63 T.C. 129" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1974-11-12" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/feistman-v-commissioner-4482747?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482747">63 T.C. 129">63 T.C. 129" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1974-11-12" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/feistman-v-commissioner-4482747?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482747">63 T.C. 129, 63 T.C. 129" court="Tax Ct." date_filed="1974-11-12" href="https://app.midpage.ai/document/feistman-v-commissioner-4482747?utm_source=webapp" opinion_id="4482747">63 T.C. 129">134 (1974) (probation officer).
Serving as a county judge--a position which by statute required only a high school diploma or its equivalent--did not qualify petitioner to practice law. He became so qualified by taking the law school courses in question. We conclude, therefore, that section 1.162-5(b)(3), Income Tax Regs., denies the deductibility of the cost of those courses.
To reflect the foregoing,
Decision will be entered for the respondent.