Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2005

As a result of intense lobbying by NEA, a bill as been introduced in the House that not only broadens the deduction for educator expenses, it also increases the deduction from $250 to $400. The Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2005 (H.R. 2989), sponsored by Congressman Camp (R-MI), would make the deduction a permanent part of the tax code.

To be eligible, the educator must work at least 900 hours in grades K-12 during a school year. The bill covers teachers, instructors, paraprofessionals, counselors and principals. Among the qualified expenses would be books, lesson materials, flash cards, crayons, computer equipment (including related software and services), supplementary materials used in the classroom and professional development.

The current educator tax deduction expires this year. It is estimated that every teacher spends on average $443 of their own money each year on classroom materials. The bipartisan bill currently has 17 cosponsors.