Studying for an MBA

[Wonderstuff]

Let's say that I want to study for an MBA. It costs £15k for one year full-time course or £30k for a 2 year part-time (every Saturday). So I'm thinking that I quite fancy a year off especially in the current market so can I use company funds to pay for it??? It's an MBA in Information Systems so I'd like to think that HMRC would see it as a recognised course.

What do you reckon?

[ratewhore]

I put my InfoSec Masters through the books of my InfoSec company.

Sounds OK to me...

[thunderlizard]

sounds OK. But for the tax side of things, you might have to declare a personal benefit because if you left your company you'd still personally have the MBA to benefit from.

[dmini]

sounds OK. But for the tax side of things, you might have to declare a personal benefit because if you left your company you'd still personally have the MBA to benefit from.

Surely that would be the same with any course you went on!
I didn't have to declare it on my side when I was in permieland - why should I now??

[Alan @ BroomeAffinity]

sounds OK. But for the tax side of things, you might have to declare a personal benefit because if you left your company you'd still personally have the MBA to benefit from.

If you were to follow that to its natural conclusion then you'd have to declare as a benefit the fact that somewhere in your career you learned how to use Excel and have carried that knowledge through to every job you have had since.

[thunderlizard]

I only said "might"!

I am not at all an expert, and it's a rather contentious area anyway. But here's what the Revenue say:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM35660.htm

[chef]

from the above link

"You should therefore allow proprietors a deduction for expenditure that merely updates existing expertise or knowledge but disallow any expenditure that provides new expertise or knowledge (particularly where it brings into existence a recognised qualification like an Master of Business Administration)."

boooo

[NotAllThere]

How can an update of existing knowledge not also be an acquisition of new knowledge?

[ft101]

How can an update of existing knowledge not also be an acquisition of new knowledge?

Coz HMRC says so - tossers!