Iowa
Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit
- Individual Tax Credit/Deduction
- Enacted 1987
- Launched 1987
Iowa provides parents of students attending an accredited Iowa school or being educated at home a tax credit covering educational expenses, including tuition, books, and lab or activity fees.
We do not administer this program.
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113,947
Participating Taxpayers (2022)
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100%
of Taxpaying Families with Children Eligible Statewide
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$222
Average Tax Credit Amount (2022)
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1%
Amount as a Percentage of Public School Per-Student Spending
Iowa’s Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit Participation
Student Funding
Use of Funds
Parents may receive a credit for out-of-pocket expenses related to certain qualifying expenses related to the education of their children. Qualifying expenses include: tuition for any K–12 that is accredited; textbooks and publications; required materials and supplies other than textbooks; required clothing that is not “street wear”; driver’s education, dues, fees, and admissions; materials for extracurriculars; music; shoes that are not “street shoes”; supplies for industrial arts, home economics or equivalent classes; travel to and from school or field trips during school hours; and uniforms.
Excluded expenses include: yearbooks; textbook fines; class rings; purchase or rent-to-own musical instrument contracts; money spent on the education of religious tenets; optional expenses for personal projects for family benefits; and overnight travel. Expenses for tutoring or other services outside an accredited Iowa school do not qualify for the credit. Purchases made from Students First Educational Savings Account (ESA) funds are not eligible for the credit.
Funding Amount and Source
Parents receive a tax credit worth 25% of their expenditures up to a maximum credit of $500 per dependent K–12 student. To get the maximum $500 per-dependent credit, parents must spend $2,000 in educational expenses for tuition, textbooks, and other qualifying expenses. The tax credit is also nonrefundable and, thus, cannot reduce an individual’s tax burden to less than zero.
(Last updated July 15, 2024)
Student Eligibility
Iowa’s tax credit provides universal eligibility for families with educational expenses for K–12 tuition, textbooks and other qualifying expenses for dependent students. Families with students attending accredited Iowa schools or being educated at home are eligible to claim the tax credit.
(Last updated July 15, 2024)
EdChoice Expert Feedback
Iowa’s individual tax credit provides universal eligibility, a positive attribute in any school choice program. However, the $500 credit is very small compared to the costs of private school tuition and covers a maximum of only 25 percent of expenditures. To increase the opportunities for choice, the Iowa program could mirror the Oklahoma tax credit program by increasing the size and value of the credit and making the credit refundable for families. That would increase the funding power of the program and more closely align student funding with the per-pupil spending in Iowa’s public schools. (Last updated December 18, 2023)Rules and Regulations
Program Guidelines
- Income Limit: None
- Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
- Refundable: No
- Enrollment Cap: None
- Credit Value: 25% (on up to $2,000 in qualifying expenditures)
- Taxpayer Credit Cap: $500
- Testing Mandates: None
- Special Needs Pathway: None
Participant and Family Guidelines
- Education Requirements: Must enroll in accredited Iowa school
- Parent Supplemented Funds/Scholarships: Allowed
(Last updated December 18, 2024)
Legal History
On March 17, 1992, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Luthens v. Bair held that Iowa’s newly enacted Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit program was constitutional. Citing a previous ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, Mueller v. Allen, 463 U.S. 388 (1983), upholding Minnesota’s Education Tax Deduction, the court ruled that Iowa’s tax credit for private school educational expenses does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Luthens v. Bair, 788 F. Supp. 1032 (S.D. Iowa 1992).
(Last updated July 15, 2024)