SB 17-039

Senate Bill 17-039, which has been signed into law, provides tax credits for Colorado residents who send their children to private or home schools. If you enroll a child in a private school, you can get a tax credit based on the tuition cost or state funding per student, whichever is lower. Similarly, if you homeschool your child full-time or part-time and they were previously enrolled in public school, you are eligible for a $1,000 or $500 tax credit respectively. The law also reduces the state's education budget by $50 million to fund these new credits. This means that families choosing private or home schooling will receive financial support through their taxes, but it could affect funding for public schools.

Official Summary

The bill establishes a private school tuition income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2018, that allows any taxpayer to claim a credit when the taxpayer enrolls a dependent qualified child in a private school or the taxpayer provides a scholarship to a qualified child for enrollment in a private school and the private school issues the taxpayer a credit certificate for either enrolling a dependent qualified child in the private school or providing a scholarship to a qualified child for enrollment in the private school. The credit may be carried forward for 3 years but may not be refunded, and the department of revenue is granted rule-making authority. In addition, the credit may be transferred, subject to certain limitations. The amount of the credit is: For any qualified child attending a private school on a full-time basis as described in the state board of education rules, an amount equal to either the tuition paid or the scholarship provided to a qualified child, as applicable, or 50% of the previous year's state average per pupil revenues, whichever is less; and For any qualified child attending a private school on a half-time basis as described in the state board of education rules, an amount equal to either the tuition paid or the scholarship provided to a qualified child, as applicable, or 25% of the previous year's state average per pupil revenues, whichever is less. The bill also establishes an income tax credit for income tax years commencing on or after January 1, 2018, that allows any taxpayer who uses home-based education for a qualified child to claim an income tax credit in an amount equal to: $1,000 for a taxpayer who uses home-based education for a qualified child who was enrolled on a full-time basis as described in the state board of education rules in a public school in the state prior to being taught at home; and $500 for a taxpayer who uses home-based education for a qualified child who was enrolled on a half-time basis as described in the state board of education rules in a public school in the state prior to being taught at home. The credit may be carried forward for 3 years but may not be refunded. In addition, the credit may be transferred, subject to certain limitations. The bill decreases the general fund appropriation made in the annual general appropriation act for the 2017-18 state fiscal year to the department of education for the state share of districts' total program funding by $50,000,000. (Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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