Indiana Personal Income Tax
Unreimbursed Education Expenses Deduction
A taxpayer who makes an unreimbursed education expenditure during the taxable year is entitled to a deduction against the taxpayer's adjusted gross income of $1,000 for each of the taxpayer's dependent children for whom the taxpayer made education expenditures in the taxable year. A husband and wife are entitled to only one deduction. To receive the deduction, a taxpayer must claim the deduction on the taxpayer's annual state tax return in the manner prescribed by the Indiana Department of Revenue. "Dependent child" means an individual who is eligible to receive a free elementary or high school education in an Indiana school corporation, qualifies as a dependent of the taxpayer, and is the natural or adopted child of the taxpayer or, if custody of the child has been awarded in a court proceeding to someone other than the mother or father, the court-appointed guardian or custodian of the child. "Education expenditure" refers to any expenditures made in connection with enrollment, attendance, or participation of the taxpayer's dependent child in a private elementary or high school education program; the term includes tuition, fees, computer software, textbooks, workbooks, curricula, school supplies (other than personal computers), and other written materials used primarily for academic instruction or for academic tutoring, or both. "Private elementary or high school education program" means attendance at a nonpublic school (as defined in Ind. Code ยง 20-18-2-12), or an accredited nonpublic school, in Indiana that satisfies a child's obligation for compulsory attendance at a school; the term does not include the delivery of instructional service in a home setting to a dependent child who is enrolled in a school corporation or a charter school. ( Indiana Information Bulletin IT107, 09/01/2011 .)