The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit program that the Legislature recently enacted in HB93 helps some families cover the cost of qualified education expenses for children who aren’t enrolled in public school. These expenses could include tuition for nonpublic school, supplies for homeschooling, tutoring, and other learning expenses. You can receive up to $5,000 per child, or $7,500 if your child has a qualifying disability.
See the FAQs below for what we know now. We’ll publish more details as they become available.
Want to learn more about the tax credit program? Register for a free class:
- Aug. 26: in-person seminar in Boise (FULL. Join waiting list.)
- Around Aug. 27: Recording of the webinar will be available.
- Sept. 11: webinar (FULL. Join waiting list.)
- Oct. 15: webinar for advance payment – applicants only, please.
- Nov. 4: in-person seminar at Meridian Library unBound (Must register with Library.)
- More webinars and seminars to come. We’ll list them here.
Get updates when we add information to this page:
Questions? Email us at parentalchoice@tax.idaho.gov
It’s a newly enacted refundable tax credit program that provides nearly $50 million in state funds to full-time Idaho residents to pay for eligible nonpublic school expenses for Idaho K-12 students and Idaho students up to 21 years of age with a qualifying disability who require ancillary personnel. The program allows parents to apply for a tax credit of up to $5,000 for each eligible student, and up to $7,500 for each eligible student with a qualifying disability.
Note: The program requires priority to be given to parents whose modified adjusted gross income doesn’t exceed 300% of the federal poverty level. For this application season, we’ll be using the 2024 federal poverty level. To find your modified adjusted gross income, see line 7 of your 2024 Form 40, Idaho Individual Income Tax Return. The program also requires us to review applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
Still under review.
You should:
- Carefully read all FAQs to ensure you and your potential expenses qualify.
- By November 1, 2025, ensure you’ve filed your 2024 Form 40, Idaho Individual Income Tax Return. You must submit a return even if Idaho normally doesn’t require you to submit one. See FAQ 7.
- By December 1, 2025, register for a TAP account. (This can take up to 14 days.) You can’t apply for the credit until you have a TAP account for individual income tax. Register at idaho.gov/NewTAP. See FAQ 9.
- Start saving receipts for qualified expenses. See FAQs 3 and 3a.
Note: Submitting an application doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get the Parental Choice credit or advance payment.
November 1, 2025: File a 2024 Idaho Form 40 tax return by this date.
December 1, 2025: Get a TAP account by this date.
January 15, 2026: First day you can apply for the credit and advance payment.
March 15, 2026: Last day to apply for the credit and advance payment.
April 15, 2026: We’ll notify parents whether they’ll receive the credit, the advance payment, or both.
To be determined: We might reopen the application process if any funds remain.
Yes. To qualify, a parent must be a full-time Idaho resident whose eligible children are also full-time residents. The parent must have filed a 2024 Form 40, Idaho Individual Income Tax Return, that lists the children as dependents.
No. Once the tax credit or advance payment is awarded through the application process, it goes directly to a parent, guardian, or foster parent of the eligible student(s).
Qualified expenses will include costs you pay for your eligible child’s academic instruction in the core subjects of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
It’s not possible to provide a complete list of qualified expenses. When considering purchases to submit if you receive the credit or the advance payment, remember that they must be:
- Directly related to the education of the eligible student
- Reasonable and necessary to fulfil the requirements of the academic instruction
Examples of expenses
Examples of expenses that might qualify include:
- School tuition or fees
- Curriculum that includes English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, at a minimum
- Textbooks
- Tutoring
- Courses associated with nationally standardized assessments
- Transportation
A few examples of expenses that won’t qualify include:
- Expenses for anyone not qualified for the credit/advance payment
- Vacations
- Big-screen televisions
- Gaming computers
- Vehicles
- Entertainment
Note: Any homeschool academic instruction that a parent provides isn’t a qualified expense and would be excluded from eligibility for the credit. Homeschool materials such as textbooks and curricula might be qualified expenses and are eligible for the credit and advance payment.
Keep your receipts of expenses paid in 2025 to your current nonpublic school or expenses incurred for homeschool instruction.
To qualify for the tax credit, academic instruction for eligible students must include the core subjects of English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, at a minimum.
If the nonpublic school that your child is attending isn’t accredited, you must document their growth as a student using a portfolio of evidence or a learning record.
Anyone applying for the credit will need to produce receipts for qualified expenses. You won’t be eligible for the tax credit if you don’t show qualified expenses. If you receive a tax credit and spend the funds outside the provisions of the law, you must repay those funds. A financial penalty and interest might apply. If you receive the credit and are found to have willfully provided false information to obtain the credit, that’s considered tax fraud and civil and criminal penalties—up to felony charges—might apply.
A nonpublic school means a private school, microschool, or learning pod that provides academic instruction to eligible students. Nonpublic academic instruction can be delivered in person, online, virtually, or through a combination of these methods. A nonpublic school will charge tuition while a public school doesn’t. For example, students who attend public schools such as the Idaho Home Learning Academy or the Idaho Virtual Academy aren’t eligible for the credit.
If your student is enrolled in any public school for academic instruction, you can’t claim the credit for that semester. The law specifically states that eligible students can’t be enrolled full-time or part-time in a public school, public charter school, public virtual charter school, public magnet school, or part-time kindergarten.
You can file a 2024 Idaho Form 40 tax return even if you don’t have taxable income. We’ve provided these special filing instructions. You should file your return as soon as possible (by Nov. 1, 2025, at the latest) to allow time for us to process the return.
You’ll be able to apply for the 2025 program online from January 15, 2026, through March 15, 2026. Please remember this is a first-come, first-served program, so we recommend you apply as soon as possible. The program requires priority to be given to parents whose modified adjusted gross income doesn’t exceed 300% of the federal poverty level. In addition, applicants are required to keep receipts for qualified expenses (see FAQ 3).
Applicants whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds 300% of the federal poverty level will be placed on a wait list until priority applications have been processed. All applications will be processed in the order in which they’re received.
We anticipate that all the funds will be spent during the initial application process. However, if funds are still available, we’ll reopen the application process.
You’ll apply online through our Taxpayer Access Point (TAP). You’ll need to get a TAP account if you don’t already have one for individual income tax. We suggest you register for a TAP account by December 1, 2025, so you’ll be ready to fill out your application online in January. It can take from one day to two weeks to register for the account, depending on your circumstances.
To find out more about TAP, visit our introduction page. To get a TAP account, register at tax.idaho.gov/NewTAP.
Note: To qualify for the program, you must have filed a 2024 Idaho Form 40 tax return.
No. You can apply for all your eligible children on one application.
Yes, as long as the school meets the requirements of the law. If the nonpublic school that your child is attending isn’t accredited, you’ll be required to document their growth as a student using a portfolio of evidence or a learning record.
No. You can’t claim the credit or advance payment for items bought with the Empowering Parents grant.