Can I deduct a business-related class I took on a cruise as a tax expense?

This is actually a pretty specific area of tax law. Business education expenses can be deductible if they maintain or improve skills needed in your current business. However, the rules get tricky when it comes to cruise ships. The IRS has special limitations on cruise ship conventions/seminars under Section 274(h). Generally, you can deduct the cost of the business class/seminar itself, but deducting the cruise costs is highly restricted. You can only deduct cruise costs if: the cruise is on a U.S. registered vessel, all ports are in the U.S. or its possessions, and you file a special written statement with your return. Even then, there's a dollar limit on how much you can deduct per day. For just the class portion, make sure you have documentation showing the business purpose and how it relates to your current business (not preparing for a new career). Keep those receipts and certificate - those are excellent documentation.

When I had a similar situation last year I was totally confused until I found taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) which saved me thousands in deductions I would have missed! I uploaded my receipts from a conference I attended in Las Vegas and the platform analyzed everything, telling me exactly what was deductible. For your situation, they'd scan your cruise documentation and class certificate and give you a detailed breakdown of what you can legally deduct. Their AI is actually trained on real IRS regulations and court cases, so it's giving you answers based on actual tax law, not just generic advice. It even cited the specific IRS publication sections that applied to my situation so I could double-check everything.

Just wanted to update after trying taxr.ai that the previous commenter recommended. Totally worth it! I uploaded my cruise documents, seminar certificate, and business license. The analysis showed I could deduct the $850 course fee 100% as a business education expense, but confirmed the cruise itself wasn't deductible since it was on a foreign vessel. What really helped was that it explained exactly where to enter everything on my Schedule C and what documentation I need to keep in case of an audit. It even caught that I could deduct my internet fees on the ship since I was using it specifically for the course research! Honestly would've had no idea about these distinctions otherwise.

If you're still trying to get clarity on this deduction and want to hear it directly from the IRS, I'd recommend using Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with education expenses, spent days trying to reach the IRS with no luck. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes! They somehow bypass the hold times that would normally have you waiting for hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it's pretty impressive. The agent I spoke with was able to give me the official guidance on my specific education expense situation and now I have documentation of that conversation for my records.

Ok I need to publicly eat my words here. After my skeptical comment I decided to try Claimyr out of pure frustration after getting disconnected from the IRS for the 3rd time today. It actually connected me to an IRS representative in about 20 minutes. The agent confirmed that for cruise-related business education, I could only deduct the actual course fee unless the ship was registered in the US (which almost none are). She also explained that I needed to maintain documentation showing how the course content directly related to my current business - so keeping the syllabus and notes was crucial. Having this documented guidance from an actual IRS employee gives me so much more confidence for filing. Definitely worth it just for the peace of mind.

Have you considered what percentage of your time on the cruise was actually spent in the business class? I think there's also a rule that if more than 50% of your time was for business purposes, you might be able to deduct more. Though the foreign vessel issue probably still applies.

Did the company that ran the class provide any kind of detailed receipt that breaks down the cost? Sometimes these business courses on cruises will actually itemize what portion covers materials, instruction, meals during sessions, etc. If they did that, you might be able to deduct more than just the base cost.

I went through something very similar last year with a continuing education course on a cruise. Here's what I learned after consulting with my CPA and getting through to the IRS: The $850 course fee is definitely deductible as a business education expense on Schedule C, assuming it directly relates to skills needed in your current business. Keep that certificate and any course materials as documentation. However, since you mentioned it was a Caribbean cruise, the vessel was almost certainly foreign-flagged, which means the cruise costs themselves (the $1,875 fare plus $450 in fees) are not deductible under IRC Section 274(h). This applies even though the course was the primary reason for your trip. One thing to watch out for - make sure you can demonstrate that this course maintains or improves skills for your existing business, not training you for a new line of work. The IRS can be picky about that distinction. Also, don't try to get creative with allocating cruise costs based on time spent in class - with foreign vessels, those costs are simply excluded regardless of the business purpose. Your best approach is to claim the clean $850 deduction and have solid documentation ready. It's a legitimate business expense that shouldn't raise any red flags.