| SEARCH OnWEAC |
|---|
Background
Great schools depend on great teachers and staff. With schools struggling with rising education costs and revenue caps, teachers are opening up their own pocketbooks to provide needed supplies for the classroom.
Attracting and retaining the best and the brightest to the teaching profession is more difficult when classrooms lack basic supplies and teachers must resort to their own financial resources to fill the need.
Legislative History
Under federal law, teachers and other educators can deduct up to $250 that they spend to buy classroom supplies. While this provision was set to expire at the end of the 2003 tax year, Congress renewed it for the 2004 and 2005 tax years.
Prior to this change in federal law, such school expenditures could be claimed only if they were included as miscellaneous itemized deductions. Even then, the expenses were useless unless they and all other allowable costs totaled at least two percent of the filer's adjusted gross income.
No comparable tax deduction exists under state law.
WEAC Position
The Wisconsin Education Association Council supports legislation providing an individual income tax deduction for an amount up to $500 that is paid by a classroom teacher each year for educational materials or supplies for use in school.
Talking Points
Additional Information
Contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator, at 800-362-8034 ext. 227 or by e- mail at sybelld@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions.
Posted May 4, 2006