HARRISBURG – Sen. Chris Gebhard of Berks, Lancaster, & Lebanon Counties plans to introduce legislation to provide a personal income tax deduction per eligible child for qualified educational expenses incurred by parents or guardians who home school their children. Under current law, families who choose to educate their children at home assume full financial responsibility for all necessary learning resources, while they continue to contribute to public education funding through state and local taxes. The legislation would establish a state personal income tax deduction of up to $5,000 per home schooled child per taxable year; make the deduction available to families complying with PA’s home school requirements; covers qualified educational expenses for home school education; requires documentation of eligible expenses for audit purposes; and ensures the deduction applies only to children not enrolled in a public or publicly funded charter school for the taxable year. Gebhard says his measure offers support to PA’s 44,000 home school students without creating a new entitlement.
SEN. CHRIS GEBHARD