Homeschool Tax Deductions and Credits in Arizona
Arizona has no homeschool tax credit or deduction. Its universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) pays for education at home, but a family that takes one signs a contract instead of filing a homeschool affidavit.
How the ESA works
Since the 2022-23 school year, every child who meets the public school eligibility rule below is a qualified student under Arizona's ESA law. The Arizona Department of Education runs the program.
The account receives 90 percent of the state funding a charter school would get for your child. The department transfers it quarterly, and the money is not taxable income to the parent.
Allowed expenses under section 15-2402 of the Arizona Revised Statutes include curricula and supplementary materials, tutoring, a nonpublic online program, standardized tests, public school classes and extracurricular programs, and tuition, fees, and textbooks at an eligible college. Therapies, aides, and evaluations are allowed for children with disabilities.
Arizona's private school tax credits fund school tuition organizations, which pay scholarships at qualified nongovernmental schools. A homeschool does not qualify.
Who qualifies
Who can apply
Any Arizona resident child who is eligible to enroll in a public school, from preschool for children with disabilities through grade 12, can apply.
The ESA contract
You agree to teach at least reading, grammar, math, social studies, and science and to spend the money only on allowed expenses. You also agree not to enroll your child in a district or charter school and not to file a homeschool affidavit.
Not a homeschool student
A signed ESA contract counts as school attendance, so an ESA student is not a homeschool student under Arizona law.
Applying and paying
First step
Decide whether to file a homeschool affidavit or sign an ESA contract, since you cannot do both, and apply through the Department of Education if you choose the ESA.
What can rule you out
The department audits accounts at random, quarterly, and annually, and it can remove a family that breaks the contract. You can appeal a department decision on expenses, removal, or eligibility to the State Board of Education. The contract must be renewed every year.
What you still pay
A family that stays with the homeschool affidavit pays every cost itself. With an ESA, costs above the account balance stay with the family.
When to apply or file
The department accepts applications from July 1 to June 30 and issues an award letter within 30 days of a complete application. An application finished between March 31 and July 1 starts on or after July 1.
Teaching that takes the work off you
We teach every subject starting at your child's level, grade the work as it is submitted, and keep the attendance, grades, and transcript, so homeschooling asks less of your time.
$149/month per child after the trial.
Sources (6)
Confirm current tax, scholarship, and ESA rules with the program before you rely on them.