H.R. 1056: Family Education Freedom Act of 2007
Family Education Freedom Act of 2007 – Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $5,000 (adjusted for inflation after 2007) per student per year for the cost of attendance at any educational institution (including any private, parochial, religious, or home school) organized to provide elementary or secondary education, or both.
Sponsor: Rep. Ronald Paul [R-TX]
Cosponsors [as of 2007-10-20]
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD]
Rep. Tom Feeney [R-FL]
Rep. Patrick Mchenry [R-NC]
Rep. Jeff Miller [R-FL]
Rep. Bobby Rush [D-IL]
Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]
This bill may look good on the surface, but the kicker is, “Amends the Internal Revenue Code.” To receive such a credit in this manner, a family would have to meet the requirements of the IRS who would then be in the business of writing rules saying that A, B and C are acceptable practices for receiving a credit, but that X, Y and Z are not.
H.R. 1056 — Full text
`(e) Regulations- The Secretary shall prescribe regulations to carry out this section, including regulations providing for claiming the credit under this section on Form 1040EZ.’
For further information, see:
- Home Education Magazine: Are Tax Credits for Educational Expenses a Good Idea for Homeschoolers?, May/Jun 1998
- LocalHS.com: Federalization of homeschooling, 4 December 2003
- NHELD: CT Legislators against Federalization of homeschooling
- Homeschool CPA: Do homeschool teachers get the Educators Expense deduction?
Probably the bottom line is whether parents who homeschool would like to be audited by the IRS about their choice of homeschooling expenses.
posted by Valerie
HEM
Helen
Tracy
mark
marynix
ann-lahrson-fisher
valerie
sandi
david
Who cares? Paul introduces this bill regularly. He’s a Republican. It’ll never even see a sub-committee hearing.
Hmmm. I hope you are right, but I would never say never. Wasn’t that the same rhetoric we heard while some were debating Scott Sommerville concerning H.O.N.D.A.?
I hope parts of this bill don’t get slipped into another bill at the last minute like they did with the military section of H.O.N.D.A.
Mary
OK– As long as there is a Democratic majority in the House. That’s good for at least three more years since there’s no way the Republicans take back the House in ’08.
The teachers’ unions are dead set against anything that even smells like a voucher.
[...] North at HEM points to a Vlaerie Bonham Moon post at HEM about Ron Paul’s tax credit for homeschoolers bill. I’ll eat my 10-gallon hat if [...]
While I am conversant with the various concerns/fears some in the homeschooling community have about increased regulation, being forced upon us should we dare to get behind any proposed tax relief for its practitioners, I once again feel puzzled and somewhat frustrated at the lack of acknowledgement of the potentially positive outcome of making the homeschooling choice affordable for more people. Are we saying that its impossible to have the one without the other? Ever?
Though some families heroically manage to undertake homeschooling while a single parent holds down enough of a job to pay the bills, most 2 parent homeschooling families make the decision for one or both parents to forsake some if not all income-earning in order to be available to make homeschooling happen. The lower a family’s income, the more difficult to pull off this balancing act, and the “choice” to homeschool becomes largely one that can’t be taken advantage of.
I for one, would at least like to be open to the possibility that some kind of ACCEPTABLE tax relief legislation for homeschoolers could be drafted. What sort of provisions or lack thereof would satisfy those of you who are wary of regulation?
J.D.
Hi Jen,
Great questions. I think it’s something a lot of us think about. Acceptable tax relief to me would be if they didn’t take a good part of my tax money in the first place.
HEM (Mary Nix) has a wonderful site for free or very low cost resources here:
http://www.homeedmag.com/resources/
Having 2 incomes or more income doesn’t necessarily guarantee happiness. I don’t feel like a heroine. I’m thrilled to see my family thriving with our homeschooling life.
I think that if the idea is presented and the typical “I can’t” mindset is defeated in that most folks can homeschool, people might be surprised at the low costs of homeschooling. Our favorite library just sent feelers out to homeschoolers asking what we need from them. Support groups offer help to families who can’t afford various activities. I think the homeschool community is very generous in that respect.
I don’t think being able to afford to homeschool is the biggest problem. It’s the mindset that only experts or expensive textbooks must be involved in homeschooling. Those tax credits are all about filling in the blanks with the perceived textbook need.
Here’s an example in Illinois of why we should be wary of legislation such as this and what happens when you stop looking over your shoulder. We have a state tax credit for private schools. Illinois homeschools are private schools per an IL Supreme Court ruling from 1950. However, since the tax credit has passed, there has now developed (as of this past year, I believe) a separate Home School tax form as opposed to the non-public tax form offered before.
Illinois homeschoolers were protected under the much larger private school umbrella in the past. But without the vigilance of the homeschool community, the new form has popped up where homeschoolers are separated out and more vulnerable to oversight and surveillance by governmental authorities. It’s a tear in our armor.
After looking at the forms in Illinois, it wasn’t worth it to our family to announce our homeschooling to the state. (IL requires no notification to homeschool.) It also wasn’t worth it to jump thru the oppressive hoops to chase down all of our expenses. What are “qualified educational expenses”? Our bikes, our gas, the birdhouses…..is it just going to work for those who spend thousands of dollars on curriculum in a box? How fair is this tax credit….really?
It’s easier for us to walk away from it.
Affording homeschooling is not the problem. Buying books and supplies is not the problem. Paying the mortgage/rent, car payment(s), electric bill, utilities…these are the problems that are presented to potential home schoolers. Also, this Act is not just for people who want to home school their children. This Act will allow all aspects of our children’s education to once again belong to the parents. What I mean by “all aspects”, when it comes to school-boards, money speaks. When I am able to afford to pay/donate to a particular after school activity, or purchase a new computer on my own, then my voice will be heard.