St. Paul, MN— The cost of purchasing back-to-school supplies can quickly add up for families and Rep. Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, is urging people to save receipts and take advantage of tax benefits that can provide some relief.
Minnesota has both a K-12 education credit and a K-12 education subtraction for school-related expenses. Both programs reduce the taxes parents pay and could provide a larger refund when filing state income taxes. Qualifications apply and expenses must be for children attending kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or homeschool.
“With the start of the 2023 school year just around the corner, many families in our area will soon head to the store to purchase school supplies,” said Rep. Backer. “All of us are dealing with higher prices because of inflation. Thankfully, there are tax benefits available to families to help mitigate the costs of many school-related items. I encourage everyone to save sales receipts on these purchases and see if you qualify to benefit from these programs.”
School supplies that qualify for the credit or subtraction include writing utensils, textbooks, musical instrument rentals, tutoring, and computer hardware/educational software. Parents are encouraged to check the Department of Revenue website (http://www.revenue.state.mn.us) to determine which expenses qualify.
While the education subtraction is not subject to income limits, the credit is limited to households with incomes less than $76,000 for families with 1 or 2 children, $79,000 for families with 3 children, and for families with 3 or more the household income must be less than $79,000 plus $3,000 for each additional child.
The Department of Revenue reported that last year, more than 17,000 families received the K-12 Education Credit for an average credit of $280. Additionally, over 134,000 families received the K-12 Education Subtraction for an average subtraction of $1,266.
In addition to the information on the Department of Revenue’s website, Rep. Backer welcomes constituents to contact his legislative office or call him at 701-361-1909 if they have additional questions.
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