Provides a personal income tax credit for parents who home school their children equal to the cost of learning materials purchased for home school purposes during the taxable year.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A485
SPONSOR: Woerner TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a personal
income tax credit for parents who home school their children
PURPOSE:
To establish a personal income tax credit for parents who home school
their children.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends section 606 of the tax law to add a new subsection
(c-2) to establish the "home schooling credit." A resident taxpayer who
maintains a home school in compliance with the regulations of the
Department of Education shall be allowed a credit equal to the cost of
learning materials purchased for home schooling purposes. "Learning
materials" shall include, but not be limited to, textbooks, workbooks,
supplemental reading material, videos, and software. If the amount of
the credit exceeds the taxpayer's tax for the year, the excess shall be
treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded. In the case
of a husband and wife who file a joint federal return, but who are
required to determine their New York taxes separately, the credit may be
applied against the tax imposed on either or divided between them as
they may elect.
Section 2: establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Parents who elect to home school their children are required to purchase
learning materials such as textbooks, workbooks, supplemental reading
material, etc., in order to comply with the regulations of the Depart-
ment of Education. These parents must also pay property taxes, which go
toward their local school district, despite not using the services
offered by the school system. In many cases, this puts an undue finan-
cial burden on families who choose to home school. The purpose of this
tax credit is to alleviate some of that burden.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.1472 of 2023-24: Referred to Ways and Means.
A.2526 of 2021-22: Referred to Ways and Means.
A.6676A of 2020: Referred to Ways and Means.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years
commencing on and after January 1, 2026.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
485
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing a personal
income tax credit for parents who home school their children
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new
2 subsection (c-2) to read as follows:
3 (c-2) Home schooling credit. (1) A resident taxpayer who maintains a
4 home school in compliance with the regulations of the department of
5 education shall be allowed a credit equal to the cost of learning mate-
6 rials purchased for home schooling purposes during the taxable year,
7 provided that such credit shall not exceed two thousand four hundred
8 dollars. For purposes of this subsection the term "learning materials"
9 shall include, but shall not be limited to, textbooks, workbooks,
10 supplemental reading material, videos, and software.
11 (2) If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection for any
12 taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess
13 shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in
14 accordance with the provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this
15 article, provided, however, that no interest shall be paid thereon.
16 (3) In the case of a married couple who file a joint federal return,
17 but who are required to determine their New York taxes separately, the
18 credit allowed pursuant to this subsection may be applied against the
19 tax imposed of either or divided between them as they may elect.
20 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
21 years commencing on and after January 1, 2026.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01971-01-5
