Doula Business Advisor: Is Doula Training Tax-Deductible?

Doula training may be tax-deductible under the following circumstances:

  1. You have income from your related business during the year that you are claiming the deduction;
  2. You have an established business and income related to doula services represents an additional revenue stream.
  3. You have birth or postpartum doula income and you took the complimentary (birth or postpartum) doula training as continuing education, to enhance your existing business.

Let’s look at these each briefly.  Basically, for #1, you need to have income in order to claim an expense against the income. The IRS will allow you to claim a loss wherein business-related expenses outweigh  gross income, yielding a net loss on your Schedule C, BUT you must have income in the same tax year as the expenses claimed or you do not really have a business. So, if you took your training in 2010 but have not made any doula income, then your training is not tax-deductible.

#2 and #3 address the IRS exclusion stating that if the education/training expense is the minimum education required to be active in your field, then it is not tax-deductible. Think, for example, of a massage therapist who wants to write off her entire education to become a massage therapist (not allowed). So, we can get around this if we have an existing business (e.g. postpartum doula, childbirth educator, massage therapist) and we claim the cost of birth doula training as a continuing education expense (allowable).

If you meet these requirements, then all expenses associated with your training — hotel, mileage/travel, and 50% of food on the road — are also allowable deductions. And don’t forget to track any books purchased for certification requirements or the cost of certification itself — all allowable deductions. Just keep those receipts!

The Doula Business Advisor blog is designed to support the establishment and long-term sustainability of private doula businesses. Patty Brennan is the author of The Doula Business Guide: Creating a Successful MotherBaby Business.

Posted by Patty Brennan on November 23, 2010 • Filed under Doula Business Advisor
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