LOUISIANA EDUCATION EXPENSE TAX DEDUCTION

 

Starting with tax year 2009, homeschoolers finally get a break on their Louisiana income tax. We now have an education tax deduction (meaning you get to subtract a specified amount from your income allowing you to be taxed at a lower rate.) The deduction is equal to 50% of your qualified expenses, up to $5,000 per child. Qualified expenses are the amounts you paid for textbooks and curricula necessary for homeschooling each child.

 

Due to an error in wording on the tax form itself (page 5, section 1, number 2), claiming the deduction could be risky for parents who homeschool under the private school option. The form goes above and beyond the law by saying BESE approval is required.  It was not the intent of either the governor and his administration or the legislature to limit the deduction so that it only applies to "approved home study" students. Instead, the drafters of the statute purposely used "home-school" so that all homeschoolers might be eligible for the deduction.  

 

So parents homeschooling under the private school option who claim the deduction for 2009 will have to trust that a tax auditor believes state statutes have more authority than tax forms.

CHEF of LA is actively working to have the language on the form corrected before next tax season.

Beryl Amedee

Legislative Liaison

CHEF of LA

legislative@chefofla.org

 

THE LAW:

RS 47§297.11.  Tax deduction; educational expenses for home-schooled children

There shall be allowed a deduction from tax table income for educational expenses paid during the taxable year by a taxpayer for the home-schooling  of a child, if the child qualifies as a dependency exemption on the taxpayer's Louisiana income tax return.  The deduction authorized by this Section shall be equal to fifty percent of the actual amount of qualified educational expenses paid by the taxpayer for the home-schooling of each child, but no more than five thousand dollars of deduction per child may be allowed to one or more taxpayers if the child qualifies as a dependency exemption on the taxpayer's Louisiana income tax return for either the taxable year or the prior taxable year.  For purposes of this Section, qualified educational expenses shall include amounts expended for the purchase of textbooks and curricula necessary for home-schooling of each child.  The amount of the deduction authorized by this Section shall not exceed the total taxable income of the individual.

 

THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TAX FORM:

18E – Educational Expenses for Home - Schooled Children – R.S.

47:297.11 provides a deduction for expenses paid for homeschooling

your qualified dependent. The dependent must be claimed on your 2009 return, or must have been claimed on your 2008 return. To calculate the amount of the deduction, use the 2009 Louisiana School Expense Deduction Worksheet on the back of Schedule E. 18E – Educational Expenses for Home - Schooled Children – R.S. 47:297.11 provides a deduction for expenses paid for homeschooling your qualified dependent. The dependent must be claimed on your 2009 return, or must have been claimed on your 2008 return. To calculate the amount of the deduction, use the 2009 Louisiana School Expense Deduction Worksheet on the

back of Schedule E.

 

THE TAX FORM ITSELF:

IT-540, page 5

2. Educational Expenses for Home-Schooled Children – R.S. 47:297.11 provides a deduction for educational expenses paid during the tax year for home-schooling your dependent child. In order to qualify for the deduction, you must be approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) for home-schooling. The deduction is equal to 50 percent of the actual qualified educational expenses paid for the home-schooling per dependent, limited to $5,000. Qualified educational expenses include amounts paid for the purchase of textbooks and curricula necessary for home-schooling. (emphasis mine)