St. Paul, MN— The cost of purchasing back-to-school supplies can quickly add up for families and Rep. Danny Nadeau, R-Rogers, 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.
“The school year is quickly approaching and families in our community are beginning to make preparations for another year of learning,” said Rep. Nadeau. “Purchasing school supplies can be expensive and I encourage families in our area to keep their sales receipts and review Minnesota’s tax benefits that can help them save money on these expenses come tax time next spring.”
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. Nadeau welcomes constituents to contact his legislative office if they have additional questions.
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