taxes and homeschooling

[bvtaxes2016]

Hi,

I'll soon start homeschooling my children. We live in Montana.

Is there any tax advantages/benefits, credits or anything else I need to be aware of?

Anything I need to report on my tax return?

What age does it start? My children are currently 2 and 3 years old.

Thank you,

Nini

[xmasbaby0]

EDUCATION EXPENSES

Education expenses for grades K-12 are not deductible on your Federal return, whether for private, public, or home schooling, nor are the expenses for tutoring, after school lessons or after school activities, such as dance lessons, sports, etc.  Some states allow deductions/credits for K-12 education and/or home schooling expenses; if your state has these deductions available, you will be prompted to enter them when you prepare your state return.  (As far as I know, the states that offer any sort of K-12 deductions/credits are Arizona,  Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,Louisiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin)

[marctu]

The federal government does not offer any tax benefits for homeschooling families.  The following states offer tax credits or deductions for homeschooling:

Illinois

The Education Expense Credit is worth up to $750 per year for eligible families. It's available to parents or legal guardians of full-time homeschooled students under 21.

Indiana

Parents of homeschooled elementary or high school-aged children may be eligible for a $1,000 deduction.

Louisiana

A tax deduction of up to 50% of qualifying educational expenses, up to $5,000 per dependent.

Minnesota

Families may be eligible for a tax credit or a tax subtraction. The subtraction is worth up to $1,625 per qualifying child in grades K–6, and $2,500 for a qualifying child in grades 7–12. The credit reduces taxes owed, limited at 75% of expenses, and there is an income cap.

North Carolina

A tax credit of $1,000 per qualifying child. A qualifying child is a dependent child who attended only a homeschool in the state that meets the legal requirements for homeschools.

Montana does have an Education Success Accounts ("ESA").   In Montana it appears that if a student has a documented disability they may qualify for the ESA+ to help cover homeschool costs

Thank you for your question @bvtaxes2016 

All the best,

Marc T.

TurboTax Live Tax Expert

27 Years of Experience Helping Clients

Ohio

Ohio provides a tax credit of up to $250 for qualifying home education expenses, including books, supplementary materials, supplies, computer software, applications, or subscriptions