Save Your Back-To-School Shopping Receipts

ST. PAUL – With a new school year on the horizon, parents and caregivers are reminded to save receipts on school supply purchases in order to claim valuable K-12 tax benefits when filing their taxes next year.

Two tax benefits can help Minnesota families pay expenses related to their child’s education: the refundable K-12 Education Credit (income limits apply) and the K-12 Education Subtraction (no income limits).

These programs reduce the tax parents pay and could deliver a larger refund when filing a Minnesota income tax return. To qualify, the purchases must be for educational services or required materials. The child must be attending kindergarten through 12^th grade at a public, private, or home school and meet other qualifications.

Last year, more than 33,000 families received the K-12 Education Credit and saved an average of $250. Nearly 190,000 families received the K-12 Education Subtraction.

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Save those receipts

Remember to save your receipts to claim the credit or subtraction. Most expenses for educational instruction or materials qualify, including:

• Paper
• Pens and notebooks
• Textbooks
• Rental or purchases of educational equipment such as musical instruments
• Computer hardware (hotspots, modems, and routers) and educational software (up to $200 for the subtraction and $200 for the credit) *
• After-school tutoring and educational summer camps taught by a qualified instructor

*Fees for internet service do not qualifyTaxpayers who are not required to file an income tax return must do so in order to claim a refund for any eligible education credit.

K-12 Education Subtraction

There are no income limits to qualify for the education subtraction. Most parents qualify. Parents can claim the K-12 Subtraction for tuition paid to private schools or college courses used to satisfy high school graduation requirements.