Creating a refundable individual income tax credit for tuition expenses paid for dependents who attend certain public and private elementary and secondary schools. (FE)

What it would have done

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

This bill creates a refundable individual income tax credit for amounts spent by a claimant on tuition for educational expenses, in the year to which the claim relates, for the claimant's dependent children to attend any public or private elementary or secondary school that does not receive more than $3,000 in state aid or property tax revenue, per pupil, for the school year that ends in the taxable year to which the claim relates. Because the credit is refundable, if the amount of the credit for which the claimant is eligible exceeds his or her tax liability, the difference will be refunded to the claimant by check.

The maximum credit that may be claimed under the bill per year, per child, if the claimant files as a single individual or head of household, or if the claimant is a married person filing a joint return, is phased in from 2014 to 2019. Under the bill, for taxable year 2014, the maximum credit that may be claimed is $1,000 for an elementary pupil (a pupil in kindergarten or grades one to eight) and $1,500 for a secondary pupil (a pupil in grades nine to twelve); in 2015, $1,100 for an elementary pupil and $1,700 for a secondary pupil; in 2016, $1,200 for elementary and $1,900 for secondary; in 2017, $1,300 for elementary and $2,100 for secondary; for 2018, $1,400 for elementary and $2,300 for secondary; for 2019 and thereafter, $1,500 for elementary and $2,500 for secondary. The maximum credit that may be claimed by a married person filing a separate return per year, per child, is 50 percent of the amount that may be claimed by a married joint filer. The amount of credit that may be claimed by a nonresident or part-year resident of this state is modified based on the ratio of the claimant's Wisconsin adjusted gross income (AGI) to his or her federal AGI. If a pupil is an elementary and a secondary pupil in the same year, the claimant may claim the credit for that pupil for only one grade.

Who's behind it

4 senators are its authors⁠. All 4 are Republicans.

26 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DOR
• Fiscal Estimate From DOR (Updated)