St. Paul, MN— The cost of purchasing back-to-school supplies can quickly add up for families and Rep. Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, who serves on the house Taxes Committee, is urging families 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. Income limits apply and expenses must be for children attending kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or homeschool.
“Labor Day is right around the corner, and with it, the start of another school year,” said Rep. Koznick. “Purchasing school supplies like notebooks, musical instruments, pencils, pens, calculators, and more can add up quickly. As all of us deal with rising prices that continue to impact family budgets, I encourage parents in our area to keep receipts on these school related items so that they can save money on these expenses come tax time.”
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. Koznick welcomes constituents to contact his legislative office if they have additional questions.
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