Tax Credit For Homeschooling

Parents pay for a public school education, whether they use it or not, through taxes. If a parent chooses to homeschool or private school, then they end up paying for the school system that they use as well as the public school tuition they choose not to use. In response to this, the state and federal governments have put in place tax credits to partially reimburse parents. A tax credit is subtracted from taxes an individual owes the government, so if a family owed $3500 in taxes and received a $500 tax credit, then they would end up paying only $3000. Some opponents to the legislation argue that funds should not be taken away from the already struggling public schools. Homeschool parents sometimes oppose tax credits as well because they fear it puts restrictions on what and how they can teach their children.

Current tax credit laws already exist in several states. Iowa was the first state to pass legislation on reimbursing privately educated families. In 1987, a new code provided for a tax credit, but it only applied to accredited schools, so most homeschool families did not qualify. Arizona followed ten years later by allowing individuals to qualify to receive credit when they made cash contributions to a Scholarship Tuition Organization. The Scholarship Tuition Organization would then issue grant scholarships for private or public education. Minnesota's tax credit is along the same lines as Iowa's, except that grants are about three times as large. In Florida, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, tax credits are available to businesses that contribute some of the taxes they owe to support Scholarship Tuition Organizations.

More parents are choosing to put their children in private institutions, so the federal government has been responding with vouchers, which are direct governmental grants to fund private and charter schools. As this trend continues, legislators are rethinking the laws on homeschool support. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana introduced The Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act, or HOMES Act, in 2008, which would offer a tax deduction for all parents who choose to homeschool. The goal was to help ensure that homeschooling families in all states could pay for adequate textbooks, special needs, and computer software.

These promises of further funding met with some reserve in homeschooling communities though. With federal tax credit legislation, more states would be enticed to provide their own tax credit to schools. However, there would also be more pressure to rule upon a standard of education to ensure a common curriculum across all states. Most homeschooling families choose to homeschool in order to stray from the common curriculum in a school district. To them, a $500 tax credit would be helpful, but it would not be worth the loss in the freedom to choose how and what their children learn in school. The textbook reimbursement also only applies to secular texts, so parents that choose religious texts would not qualify. Tax credits currently being offered to privately educated students can offer much needed support to families, but the downsides should also be considered.

Homeschooling is a challenge, but it can have outstanding rewards for yourself. At the same time, it can be reat for your child. Just be sure to take it very seriously and try to make an effort to separate your roll as an everyday parent with your roll as a home school teacher.


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