Our View: Parents can help themselves, school

We love having our kids home all summer, but many parents are just as happy to have them back in school, masks or no masks.

Most parents are aware that this will be the second year that all children will be offered free meals at schools, thanks to the pandemic. The federal program is welcome, but it is coming at an unexpected cost to our local school districts. They are pleading with parents to fill out the forms filed in normal times, in order to gauge the number of those eligible for free and reduced-cost lunches. That number is tied to the amount of federal funding, grants and discounts districts receive. Budget managers across the county are noting significant losses in federal money because people are not filing the income forms.

It isn’t always comfortable to reveal family income, and the current free lunch programs might seem like a break, but districts need to accurately count students eligible for food and educational benefits in order to receive extra federal dollars. So, do your part and get the forms filled out.

Balance that small task with an often overlooked tax break associated with preparing kids for school: It’s called the Minnesota K‑12 Education Credit and the K-12 Education Subtraction. Just save your receipts for any qualifying education-related expenses.

From the Minnesota Department of Revenue website: “Most Minnesotans qualify for the K-12 Education Subtraction, which reduces your taxable income. You may also qualify for the K-12 Education Credit under certain income limits. The credit can refund up to 75 percent of costs, even if no tax is owed.”

The program applies to families with children attending kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or qualified home school with “qualified” education expenses. Some of the back-to-school supplies that qualify are such staples as paper and notebooks; pens and pencils; textbooks; musical instrument rental fees; computers and computer accessories; and even after-school tutoring and educational summer camps. Other expenses, such as certain transportation expenses paid to others; driver’s ed instructor fees; and more are also eligible for the tax break. Things such as school lunches, uniforms and school clothes don’t qualify.

To get more information about the tax breaks and how to take advantage of them, visit the Department of Revenue website and click “Back-to-School Tax Relief” on the home page. Most parents will receive an email from their school district, with links to the appropriate information, which we appreciate.

These tax benefits are important to many working families and reflect the value we put on our children’s education in Minnesota.There’s plenty of room for discussion on other aspects of funding for education, but these tax breaks are good for the state and good for students and their families.