Can I deduct homeschool expenses?

Every once in a while, someone asks, “how do we deduct homeschooling expenses?” The short answer is, we don’t.

Even if a state lodges homeschooling under the state’s private school statutes, homeschoolers are not running a business for their own children. If people accept money from other parents to school the children from another family, that is a private school, not homeschooling. Some states make allowances for including a limited number of children of other people in a family’s homeschooling, but, in Missouri at least, payment is not allowed. People who run private schools will have business expenses that can be deducted from the profits, but otherwise any costs are voluntary and a result of child-rearing decisions.

• Are Tax Credits for Educational Expenses a Good Idea for Homeschoolers?, Home Education Magazine
• A Tax Write-Off?, A to Z Home’s Cool

Some states do make allowances for tax credits, but for federal taxes, standard tax deductions apply.

• Just the FAQs – Tuition Tax Credits and Tax Deductions, The Center for Education Reform

Tags: home education, homeschool expenses, homeschooling, tax deductions

This entry was posted on October 4, 2008 at 10:59 am and is filed under News-Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.