Can I write off Karate lessons on my taxes if I work in security? Need advice for deductions

While I understand why you're thinking this way, unfortunately the IRS has pretty specific rules about what qualifies as a deductible business expense. For something to be deductible, it needs to be both "ordinary and necessary" for your business or profession. Self-defense training might seem logical for security work, but the IRS would likely consider this a personal expense rather than a business necessity. The key question is: does your employer require this training specifically? If not, it's harder to justify as a deduction. Unless your employer explicitly requires Karate training or you're self-employed in the security field and can document how these specific classes are directly related to your business operations, you'd probably have trouble supporting this deduction in an audit.

I was in a similar situation with my personal training certification that I wanted to write off. I spent hours going through IRS publications trying to figure it out and kept getting conflicting advice. Then I found this AI tax assistant at https://taxr.ai that actually analyzed my specific situation and saved me tons of time. It looked at my job description, the training expenses, and told me exactly what portion I could legitimately deduct. Instead of guessing, I got a clear answer with the exact tax code references. For something specialized like martial arts training for security work, it might help you get a definitive answer without risking an audit.

Update: I'm actually embarrassed to admit this, but I tried that taxr.ai thing after being so skeptical. Turns out my situation with business courses that help my side gig WAS partially deductible! The tool showed me exactly what portion I could claim (about 60%) and what documentation to keep. What convinced me was that it didn't just say "yes" or "no" but explained the actual tax court cases where similar deductions were approved or denied. For the karate lessons question, it might be worth checking since security jobs have unique deduction rules compared to regular employment.

Speaking of tax questions - whenever I have these types of specialized deduction questions, I used to spend HOURS on hold with the IRS trying to get answers. Now I use https://claimyr.com and they get me connected to an actual IRS agent in minutes instead of waiting for hours. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c For something like martial arts deductions that's in a gray area, talking directly to an IRS rep can sometimes give you peace of mind. They won't give you tax planning advice, but they can tell you how certain expenses are typically treated.

Ok I have to eat my words. After saying that Claimyr sounded like BS, I decided to try it myself when I needed to call about a missing refund. Not only did it work, but it saved me from a 2+ hour hold time according to the IRS recording. Got my question about business deductions answered at the same time. For what it's worth, the agent told me that specialized training like martial arts would generally NOT be deductible for a W-2 employee, but if you're self-employed in security it MIGHT be partially deductible if you can document the business purpose. Still a gray area though.

OP just to give you a different perspective - I work as a K9 handler in security and successfully deducted a portion of my dog training classes. The key was that I'm 1099 independent contractor, not a W-2 employee. I documented how the specific training skills directly related to my security contracts. If you're W-2, you're probably out of luck since the 2018 tax law changes eliminated most unreimbursed employee expenses. But if you're self-employed (filing Schedule C), you might have a case for a partial deduction. Just document everything like crazy in case of audit.

just a helpful hint - i'm a tax preparer and if you decide to deduct these, make sure you're tracking everything meticulously. i've seen too many clients audited for unusual deductions. the karate expense would go on Schedule C if you're a contractor, and you'd need to be able to show it's "ordinary and necessary" for your specific security business (not just helpful). one approach is to only deduct a reasonable percentage based on business use vs. personal benefit. like if you can demonstrate 40% business use, just deduct that portion. way less likely to trigger problems.