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9:42 AM, Feb. 17, 2009
Tax Breaks for Homeschooolers
(view similar articles on Personal Finance and Taxes)
Since tax season 2009 has officially launched, I'll address a question I am frequently asked,
"Do homeschoolers get any tax breaks for their homeschooling expenses? Can a homeschool family deduct any of their homeschool expenses?"
The simple answer is "No; there are no tax credits for homeschool expenses from the federal government."
The longer answer is "Maybe, depending on what state you live."
Several states have an educational tax credit. Iowa, Arizona, Minnesota and Illinois all have some sort of tax break for individuals. The credit is available to any public or private school student, so it is not unique to homeschoolers. Florida and Pennsylvania offer businesses tax credits if they sponsor a scholarship.
This document has a chart of education tax credits and deductions by state (updated November 2008). Scroll to page 6 to see the chart.
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/feelaw.pdf
Home School Legal Defense Association has an explanation of some states' tax breaks or credits:
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200504150.asp
Homeschoolers can get creative and think perhaps they can start a business or a nonprofit organization of their homeschool activities and then deduct their expenses. Ann Zeise of A to Z Home's Cool addresses these ideas:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/articles/031401.htm
To quote Ann:
You cannot contribute to your own child's K12 education and get any tax deduction for it, no more than if you sent him to a private school and tried to write off the tuition.
Carol Topp, CPA
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