SB 170

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.