May 17 is Tax Day
With the tax filing deadline around the corner, be sure to deduct your eligible educator expenses, including costs for PPE.
Thanks to a federal coronavirus economic relief package, teachers will be able to apply the cost of PPE and other supplies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in their classrooms toward the $250 educator expense deduction on their federal taxes. The deduction is retroactive to March 12, 2020.
For eligible educators—K-12 teachers, counselors, and others who worked at least 900 hours in an elementary or secondary school—expenses that have traditionally qualified for the $250 deduction ($500 for joint filers who are both eligible educators) include books, supplies, computer hardware and software, professional development, and other supplementary materials that teachers purchase for their classrooms without reimbursement from their districts.
“Of course, we know that on average our teachers spend far more than $250 a year on their classrooms,” says CEA President Jeff Leake, adding, “PPE has now become an essential classroom supply—a cost that districts, and not teachers, need to cover. Nevertheless, this is a step in the right direction, and we will continue to press for more relief to ensure our teachers and students are protected.”
For more information, contact your tax preparer or visit irs.gov/taxtopics/tc458.
Building Reps: Please print and post this flyer to your faculty breakroom.
