The parental choice tax credit or advance payment could help some families cover the cost of qualifying education expenses for children who are in nonpublic school. You can receive up to $5,000 per eligible student, or up to $7,500 per eligible student with a qualifying disability.
You can’t claim the parental choice tax credit unless you apply for it and are awarded it. You must apply for and be awarded the advance payment.
Applying
See the State of Idaho’s official My School Choice website for program details, eligibility, and how to apply.
Qualifying expenses
We don’t have a specific list of all qualifying expenses, and we can’t prequalify your expenses.
If you’re allowed to take the parental choice tax credit or you’re awarded an advance payment, it could cover:
- Tuition for nonpublic school or a single curriculum. Either must be for kindergarten through twelfth-grade education (K-12). Either must include, at a minimum, the four core subjects of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
- Textbooks for the four core subjects.
- Tutoring or other qualifying expenses related to the four core subjects.
- Courses associated with nationally standardized assessments and the assessments themselves.
- Transportation to and from the nonpublic school.
The legislation doesn’t mention any other kinds of expenses.
Examples of nonqualifying expenses
Examples of expenses that won’t qualify include:
- Expenses for anyone not qualified for the parental choice tax credit or advance payment
- Extracurricular and nonacademic activities outside of the four core subjects
- Homeschool academic instruction that a parent provides
- Dual-credit courses for college classes taken in high school
- Vacations
- Uniforms
- Big-screen televisions
- Gaming computers
- Vehicles
- Entertainment
If you receive an award
We’ll notify you by April 15, 2026, if you’re allowed a parental choice tax credit or will receive an advance payment. No one is guaranteed to get either.
- For the parental choice tax credit, you’ll have submitted receipts for expenses paid in 2025 when you applied. If you receive notice that you’re allowed to take the tax credit, you can claim up to the amount we allowed in your notification, on your 2025 Idaho Form 40, Individual Income Tax Return.
Note that if you’re allowed for the tax credit, the Tax Commission would be giving permission for you to claim the tax credit up to the amount specified – it wouldn’t be preapproving expenses. You submit expenses when you apply so the agency can gauge how much money might be needed from the total money allocated for this program. Everyone is still subject to audit.
The filing deadline for 2025 tax returns is April 15, 2026. You can file your return by April 15 to avoid penalty and interest. If you found out after you filed that you could claim the tax credit, you could then file an amended return. Or, explore what a valid filing extension entails. There’s no extension to pay.
- For the advance payment, if you were to receive it, you’d save paid invoices or receipts for expenses you pay in 2026. You must provide those later to prove that you spent the money on qualifying expenses in 2026. You must repay any money spent on nonqualifying expenses or on qualifying expenses without proper receipts. You’ll do this through a reconciliation process that we’ll roll out later.
- Paid invoices or receipts must show the information for the provider (such as the school or the developer of the single curriculum), what the expense was (such as tuition or the single curriculum that includes all four core subjects), how much it was, that you paid it, and when you paid it.
Money spent outside the law
You must repay any money you receive from the parental choice tax credit or advance payment that you spend outside the provisions of the law. A financial penalty and interest might apply.
Willfully providing false information to obtain funds from this program is considered tax fraud. Civil and criminal penalties — up to felony charges — might apply.
Laws and rules
Idaho Code, section 63-3029N, law regarding the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit program