Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate Finance Committee today adopted an amendment by Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet to extend and expand tax deductions for teachers who spend their own money on the job. The amendment, also sponsored by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), to the tax extenders bill would increase the $250 educator expense tax deduction by indexing it to inflation. It would also allow teachers to use the deduction for professional development, which is often costly expenses for teachers.
“Teachers across the country are too often underpaid, and yet many of them pay out of their own pockets to provide kids in their classrooms with supplies like pencils and paper,” Bennet said. “This tax deduction is a modest tool to help provide a little relief. Increasing its amount and adding new eligible expenses will help alleviate some of this burden that teachers should not bear in the first place.”
Under the current law, teachers can deduct up to $250 for purchasing certain unreimbursed expenses, such as school supplies. This amendment would index this threshold to inflation. In addition, the amendment would enable teachers to use the deduction to cover professional development expenses.
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