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HB0147 • 2021

Education expenses-tax credit.

AN ACT relating to property taxation; providing a tax credit for specified education expenses; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Children Education Taxes
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Representative Fortner
Last action
2021-04-07
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2021

Plain English Breakdown

The bill was introduced but died in committee, meaning it did not become law.

Education Expenses Tax Credit Act

This bill proposes a tax credit for Wyoming residents who pay for their children's education expenses at private or home-based programs.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new tax credit for people who spend money on their child’s education at private schools or through home-based educational programs.
  • Limits the credit to $1,000 per dependent child or the actual amount spent, whichever is less.
  • Requires taxpayers to file a claim with the county assessor by May 24th each year.
  • Directs the Department of Revenue to create forms and rules for implementing this tax credit.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Parents who pay for their children's education at private schools or through home-based educational programs in Wyoming.
  • Taxpayers with dependent children not attending public schools in Wyoming.
  • County assessors and the Department of Revenue, which will manage the new tax credit process.

Terms To Know

Dependent child
A child who is eligible to receive a free elementary or high school education in Wyoming but does not attend any public school in Wyoming, qualifies as a dependent of the taxpayer for federal income tax purposes, and is the natural or adopted child of the taxpayer.
Education expenditure
Money spent on private school tuition, fees, computer software, textbooks, workbooks, curricula, or other written materials for a dependent child. It does not include expenditures for personal computers or transportation to the private school.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill is marked as inactive by Wyoming's legislature, meaning it did not pass in the current session.
  • It only applies to unreimbursed education expenses paid during the tax year.
  • Details about how the credit will be implemented are still pending rulemaking.

Bill History

  1. 2021-04-07 House

    H:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to HR 5-4

  2. 2021-03-22 House

    H No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2021-03-03 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H04 - Education

  4. 2021-03-01 House

    H Received for Introduction

  5. 2021-02-24 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
21LSO-0517
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-0517
Numbered
2.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0147

Education expenses-tax credit.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Fortner, Bear, Burt, Haroldson, Laursen, Neiman and Ottman

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to property taxation; providing a tax credit for specified education expenses; requiring rulemaking; and providing for effective dates.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 39
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109(d) by creating a new paragraph (ii) is amended to read:

39
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109.

Taxpayer remedies.

(d)

Credits.

The following shall apply:

(ii)

The following shall apply to the education expense tax credit:

(A)

A taxpayer who makes an unreimbursed education expenditure during a tax year is entitled to a credit in the amount specified under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph;

(B)

The credit under this paragraph shall be the amount of the education expenditure or one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) per dependent child, whichever amount is less;

(C)

A taxpayer who wishes to claim a credit shall file a claim under penalties of perjury with the county assessor on or before the fourth Monday in May on forms provided by the department of revenue. The forms may be mailed to property owners and may be published in a newspaper by county assessors and the mailed or published form may be filled out and returned by mail or in person to county assessors. The taxpayer shall list the unreimbursed education expense, the property claimed to be subject to the tax credit and state that no other claims for the same credit have been or will be submitted by the taxpayer
during the remainder of the calendar year. False claims are punishable as provided by W.S. 6
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303;

(D)

In completing the assessment roll of the county, the county assessor shall indicate the assessed value used as a base for computation of the tax and the county treasurer shall collect from the property owner the amount of tax due minus the amount of tax credit allowed;

(E)

As used in this paragraph:

(I)

"Dependent child" means a child who is eligible to receive a free elementary or high school education in Wyoming but who does not attend any public school in Wyoming, who qualifies as a dependent of the taxpayer for purposes of the federal income tax and who is the natural or adopted child of the taxpayer or the taxpayer is a court appointed guardian or custodian of the child;

(II)

"Education expenditure" means any expenditure made in connection with the enrollment, attendance or participation of the taxpayer's dependent
child in a private school and includes tuition, fees, computer software, textbooks, workbooks, curricula or other written materials and school supplies. "Education expenditure" shall not include expenditures for a personal computer or for transportation to the private school;

(III)

"Private school" means a nonpublic, elementary or secondary school providing a basic academic educational program for children and may include parochial and church or religious schools and home based educational programs. "Private school" shall not include a student who is at home or other nonpublic location but participating in a public school, including a charter school, through virtual education.

Section 2.

The department of revenue shall develop forms and adopt rules as necessary to implement W.S. 39
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107(d)(ii) as created by section 1 of this act not later than January 1, 2022.

Section 3
.

(a)

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(b)

Section 1 of this act is effective January 1, 2022
.

(END)

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HB0147