Can a laptop be written off your taxes for education purposes?

Not sure about CA rules, but Fed does allow you to deduct any education related expenses (up to a maximum). This is tuition, fees, books, pencils, and computers, though they don't count any room & board. You have the option of filing it out as a deduction (where you deduct it from AGI and calculate your tax afterward) or you can take the lifetime learning credit (where they give a break on the actual final tax amount that you owe). The limit on the deduction is $4,000. The credit is a calculation based on many factors.

It will depend on several things such as income and other deductions as to which is more beneficial. Calculate it both ways and figure out which nets you the best result. For the computer, you can only deduct the % that you use for school, so if you also play around on it a lot, that % is not deductible (though it is nearly impossible for the IRS to refute the % you use).

Don't forget that any student loans count toward the overall expense for the year. Even though you don't have to pay them back immediately, you are taking on that liability.