FAQ: Is homeschooling a Tax Write-Off?



	Is Homeschooling a Tax Write-Off By Ann Zeise Quick Support Sign Up

	Around tax time, I usually get several letters asking if there is any way homeschool expenses can be written off on taxes. No profit, No business Homeschools in most states cannot be run as a business nor even a non-profit as you do not charge your students for their education and you provide no community service to others than your own. Your intent is not to make a profit, which is the rule-of-thumb for the IRS regarding home businesses. It is more like a hobby or paying for piano lessons. You are not under the control of a board of directors, unless you go to a lot of trouble to form a non-profit association. You'd probably have problems being allowed to do this for a homeschool. Other rules No, donations of money or educational supplies to your homeschool may not be written off on the taxes of your kindly relatives. Yes, an increase in child support payments from your ex-spouse can be written off on his taxes, but the increase must be accounted for on yours. Saying that, you can start ANOTHER kind of educational business, such as a tutoring service, in which case you would fall under tutoring laws and not homeschooling laws. You can start a private school, and thereby fall under THOSE laws. However, you still can't write off any expenses but those incurred in support of paying customers. You cannot contribute to your own child's 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. IRS regulations are pretty clear that you can only write off educational expenses that apply to your job directly. The IRS states: *I will be homeschooling my child next year and would like to know if school related expenses, such as curriculum, school supplies, field trip activities, etc., are deductible?* There is no deduction for your child's home schooling expenses. These are nondeductible personal, living, or family expenses. Please refer to Publication 529, Miscellaneous Deductions. Planning ahead Education Savings Act for Public and Private Schools IRA account of up to $2500 may be set aside for homeschool education in the US. Talk to your tax accountant on how to take advantage of this tax deduction. This is one way some money may be sheltered for homeschool-related expenses if you plan in advance while your children are small. There is one state which has an exception: Minnesota. In Minnesota you may deduct from your state taxes education expenses for which you have saved receipts. Title: Minnesota Department of Revenue: Apply Cost of School Supplies to Education Credit Summary: ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug 9, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Across Minnesota, parents are purchasing school supplies for their children in anticipation of the new school year. The Minnesota Department of Revenue reminds parents that these costs may be taken as credits or subtractions on income taxes. However, parents must remember to save their cash register receipts. If you want the same benefits in your state, you'll have to get some grass roots support for a law like Minnesota's. Note that the law is for ANY parent purchasing educational material for their children. I do not know exactly what constitutes "school supplies" under this law. My guess is that it is for only those items that schools require their families to purchase. It may only include materials such as pencils and paper, and not include something like a backpack. It may include a new microscope, and then again it may not. Does family membership in a local museum count? Most likely only a membership for children MIGHT count, and then, maybe such a membership is not considered a "school supply." Only a CPA can answer these questions for you. Is it worth it? Is the tax credit great enough to offset the invasion into your privacy? Do you need the tax credit badly enough to tell the state what you have been buying to educate your child with? What if someone "up there" doesn't approve of your expenditures? Just something to consider. I hear that the deduction may result in tax payers paying about $35 less in taxes. Less than the price of one good math book these days. How much is your freedom worth? I often ask homeschoolers if maybe they don't think they get MORE use out of some things their tax dollars go for than average families. Most will admit to being heavy users of the public library and the local and regional parks. "Carschoolers" joke about probably using up more highway taxes than most! Frugal Homeschooling Ann Zeise has been a homeschooling parent since 1993 and working online since 1989. She is the creator of A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling Website, which had its start as a BBS service in 1994. It has grown to over 800 pages of homeschooling essays and information, and has won such awards as the USA Today Education Site of the Week. Reprinted by permission of the author Ann Zeise. Š2001 All rights reserved and may not be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. Homeschool FAQ "The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child" Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start by Linda Dobson Are you considering homeschooling for your family? Linda Dobson has created a comprehensive guide which will help you determine the appropriate first steps, build your own educational philosophy, and discover the best ways to cater to your child’s specific learning style. In this interview with Linda, we had the opportunity of chatting about: why her homeschooling book helps parents with the "grand educational experiment" of first year; picking the right curriculum; can parents be good homeschooling "teachers"; the most important thing that a beginning homeschooler needs to know; finally she shares with us a FREE excerpt of her book where she shatters a myth of homeschooling, "Myth #4: You Need Teacher Training, Dearie!" I hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as we did doing it. Also, if you have any questions for Linda, please send them to us. "Homeschooling on a Shoestring" by Judith Allee Interview & FREE Excerpt hosted by Joe Spataro She is the co-author of "Homeschooling on a Shoestring" and began homeschooling to give her foster son relief from special education in public school. She is active in homeschooling and adoption circles as a writer and speaker and has contributed to two national publications Growing Without Schooling and The Mentor. In this interview, she helps you find creative ways to cut expenses so that you can live on one income, or 1 1/2 incomes and so much more, so don't miss it.		FREE Child Development Ideas FREE Craft Ideas FREE Kids Recipes FREE Coloring Pages Interview & FREE Excerpt Homeschooling 101 Home Schooling: Is it for you? more Homeschooling Videos more grade school education more homeschooling books "Is Homeschooling Expensive?" Frequently Asked Questions More Bob Books for Reading Reading Education Center The Original "Classic" Volume 1 \| Volume 2 The Big Book of Home Learning by Mary Pride more Learn@ Home K-5 series more "Need to Know" K-6 series more Curriculum Guides

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