With back-to-school season underway, stores are stocking up on pencil boxes, crayons, and folders. As my colleague Josiah Padley wrote here, national survey results show that families expect to spend more than $100 on school supplies this year. The price tag tops $600 when technology, equipment for after-school activities, and books are added in.
For Minnesota parents, saving those receipts could be worth it this next tax season.
Through Minnesota’s K-12 Education Subtraction and K-12 Education Credit programs, families can receive a tax credit or claim a tax subtraction for certain educational expenses. Both help lower a family’s tax liability.
Enacted in 1955, the K-12 Education Subtraction is open to any Minnesota family with a child in kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or home school. There is no income limit to claim the subtraction, but the amount depends on the child’s grade level.
Minnesota K-12 Education Subtraction
The state’s K-12 Education Credit was added in 1997. Like the subtraction, it covers families with children in public, private, or home schools. But unlike the subtraction, the credit has income limits, and married couples filing separately are not eligible. For families with one or two children in K-12, adjusted gross income must be below $81,820. The income threshold increases with each additional child.
Minnesota K-12 Education Credit
Eligible expenses for the subtraction and credit include paper, pens, and notebooks, textbooks and required school supplies. The programs also cover the rental or purchase of musical instruments used for school, up to $200 in computer hardware and educational software, and certain after-school tutoring and summer camps. Private school tuition qualifies for the subtraction but not the credit. A list of what doesn’t qualify is available here. Families should keep itemized receipts or invoices to document their expenses.
Expense Examples for Minnesota K-12 Education Credit/Subtraction
In 2024, over 44,000 families claimed the K-12 Education Credit, averaging $379 each. More than 114,000 families claimed the subtraction, averaging $1,438, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Figures for 2025 haven’t been released yet.
These programs prove Minnesota already accepts the premise that education dollars should follow the child, not the system. State lawmakers should build on that principle and expand access to more education options, and the financial support that comes with them, to more families.
