Photo: Ramakant Sharda

From the MN Dept of Revenue and Cook County VITA/TCE tax assistance volunteers  - July 19, 2023

It’s time to start back-to-school shopping! The Minnesota Department of Revenue reminds you that many school supply purchases may qualify for valuable K-12 tax benefits on your 2023 Minnesota income tax return. Remember to save your school supply receipts.

According to the Cook County VITA/TCE tax assistance volunteers, "The income max for claiming the Education Credit on your MN taxes went up substantially for this coming year. You may qualify now even if you didn't in the past."

“Save those receipts from school supply purchases and claim the K-12 Education Credit or Subtraction,” said MN Dept of Interior Commissioner Paul Marquart. “This will help save some money when it comes time to file taxes and is something that nearly every parent or caregiver in Minnesota can do.”

What K-12 tax benefits Minnesota offers

Two Minnesota tax benefits help families pay their child’s education expenses: The K-12 Education Credit and the K-12 Education Subtraction [ https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/k-12-education-subtraction-and-credit ].

Both benefits reduce your state tax and could provide you a larger refund when filing your Minnesota income tax return.  Because Minnesota’s latest tax bill increased the income limits for the refundable K-12 Education Credit, more families may now qualify for it.

Last year, more than 17,000 families received the K-12 Education Credit and saved an average of $280. Over 134,000 families received the K-12 Education Subtraction with an average subtraction of $1,266.

Qualifications

To qualify for either the credit or subtraction, both of these must be true:

* You have a qualifying child attending kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or qualified home school
* You purchased qualified education-related expenses in 2023 to assist with the child’s education

Separate requirements apply for credit and subtraction.

*K-12 Education Subtraction: There are no income limits for the education subtraction, and you may qualify regardless of your filing status.

 *K-12 Education Credit:  Your adjusted gross income must be below the levels shown in the table. If you qualify for the credit but do not need to file a Minnesota return, you must file a return to claim the credit. If you are married, you and your spouse must file a joint return to qualify.
 

Number of qualifying children in K-12      Adjusted gross income must be less than


"1 or 2"                                                      "$76,000"


"3"                                                             "$79,000"


"More than 3"                                              "$79,000 plus $3,000 for each additional child"


What education-related expenses qualify? 

Qualifying expenses may include:

* Paper and notebooks
* Pens and pencils
* Nonreligious textbooks
* Rental or purchases of educational equipment, including musical instruments
* Computer hardware (including hotspots, modems, and routers) and educational software (Note: Up to $200 qualifies for the subtraction and $200 qualifies for the credit)
* After-school tutoring and educational summer camps taught by a qualified instructor
Internet service or access fees do not qualify.


For more information, visit:

* Qualifying Expenses for the K-12 Education Credit and Subtraction Page https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/qualifying-expenses 

* A video on how the credit works [ https://youtu.be/mQ1ZtZdV-JM ]

* Dept of Revenue website: www.revenue.state.mn.us