Bennet Improvements to Teacher Tax Deduction Included in Tax Extenders

Bill Permanently Extends Deduction, Indexed to Inflation, Covers Professional Development

Washington, DC - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet secured improvements to the teacher tax deduction in a bill to fund the government and extend several tax provisions. The improvements stem from an amendment Bennet introduced and passed in the Senate Finance Committee earlier this year.

"Teachers across the country are too often underpaid, and many of them even 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 value and making new expenses eligible for the deduction will help alleviate some of this burden that teachers should not bear in the first place."

The $250 deduction will now be indexed to inflation and will allow teachers to use the deduction for professional development expenses, which is often costly for teachers.

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