Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit for Homeschoolers: The HB 93 Guide

In early 2025, Idaho enacted one of the most significant homeschool-friendly funding laws in the state's history. The Parental Choice Tax Credit, passed as House Bill 93, makes homeschool families eligible for a refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 per student per year — meaning if the credit exceeds what you owe in state taxes, Idaho sends you the difference as a direct payment.

But the credit has strict rules, a narrow annual application window, and specific requirements that many new homeschoolers miss. This guide explains exactly how it works, what qualifies, and what you need to do from the moment you withdraw your child.

What the Parental Choice Tax Credit Actually Is

HB 93 created a refundable tax credit for Idaho families who educate their children outside the public school system — including homeschoolers. The credit amounts are:

• $5,000 per student for most qualifying families
• $7,500 per student for students with documented special needs

The credit is refundable, which is the critical detail. A non-refundable credit can only reduce your tax liability to zero. A refundable credit goes beyond that — if your credit exceeds your state tax bill, you receive the excess as a payment. Families with lower incomes who pay little Idaho state income tax can still receive the full benefit.

This is not a voucher program and it does not require Idaho Department of Education approval for your educational approach. The credit is administered through the state's tax system, not through the SDE.

The Application Window: January 15 to March 15

This is where most families lose the credit in their first year. The application window opens January 15 and closes March 15 — strictly. There is no late-submission pathway, no extension process, and no catch-up option if you miss it.

The application is filed through Idaho's Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) portal at tap.tax.idaho.gov using Idaho Form 40 (the standard individual income tax return). The process requires:

1. A TAP account (create one at tap.tax.idaho.gov if you don't have one)
2. Receipts for qualifying educational expenses incurred during the prior calendar year
3. Form 40 filed or in progress — the credit is claimed on your state tax return

If your child is withdrawing from public school mid-year in, say, October 2025, any eligible curriculum expenses you incur between October and December 2025 can be claimed in the January–March 2026 window. Start collecting receipts the moment you withdraw.

What Qualifies as a Creditable Expense

The eligibility rules are specific enough that curriculum choice matters from day one. Qualifying expenses include:

Purchased curricula covering the four core subjects: English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. This is the most straightforward category. Boxed curricula that bundle all four subjects in one purchase (like Sonlight, My Father's World, or Calvert) make receipt tracking simple — one invoice covers the requirement. Subject-by-subject curricula qualify as well, but you need receipts from each vendor.

Textbooks and workbooks: Standard print materials purchased for instructional use.

Tuition paid to a qualifying third-party tutor or provider: If you hire a tutor or enroll your child in a third-party instruction program, those fees qualify. The key is "third party" — the expense must be paid to someone other than yourself.

Online course subscriptions from qualifying providers: Subscription fees to educational platforms are potentially eligible, though provider qualification criteria under HB 93 were still being refined as of early 2026. Retain receipts and verify through the TAP portal guidance.

What does not qualify:

The most important exclusion: "homeschool academic instruction that a parent provides." You cannot receive a tax credit for your own time teaching your children. If you're the instructor, that instruction cost doesn't count. Only third-party expenses and purchased materials apply.

Materials for purely extracurricular activities outside the four core subjects also don't qualify. An art supply purchase or music lesson fee is not creditable, but a science curriculum purchase is.

Setting Up Your Record-Keeping From Day One

Because the credit is receipt-driven, the administrative habits you establish when you first start homeschooling directly affect your credit eligibility. Specifically:

Keep every receipt, immediately. Create a folder — digital or physical — the day you withdraw. Every curriculum purchase, every textbook order, every tutoring invoice goes in. The TAP portal requires documentation of expenses at application time.

Document what each purchase covers. For the credit to apply, expenses need to clearly connect to core subjects. If you buy a bundled curriculum, keep the product description showing it covers ELA, math, science, and social studies. If you buy subject-specific materials, tag each receipt with the subject.

Track payment method. Credit card statements provide a secondary documentation trail, but the original receipt from the vendor is the primary documentation.

Note the expense date. The credit applies to expenses incurred during the prior calendar year. Expenses in 2025 are claimed in the 2026 application window; expenses in 2026 are claimed in the 2027 window.

Idaho's No-Notification Rule and How It Interacts With HB 93

Here's a subtlety that matters for new homeschoolers: Idaho does not require you to register your homeschool, file a notice of intent, or notify the state that you're homeschooling. The state has no record of your homeschool's existence unless you voluntarily enroll in a state program.

The HB 93 credit does not change this. You do not register your homeschool to claim the credit — you simply claim educational expenses on your state tax return. The TAP portal asks for documentation of expenses, not proof of homeschool registration.

However, there's a practical implication: because Idaho doesn't track homeschoolers, the tax authority relies entirely on the accuracy of what you self-report. Maintain honest, thorough records. A future audit would require you to produce receipts for claimed expenses, not prove you ran a compliant homeschool program.

Combining HB 93 With Other Idaho Funding

The Parental Choice Tax Credit is one of two major financial programs available to Idaho homeschool families in 2025–2026. The other is the Advanced Opportunities program (Idaho Code §33-4602, updated by HB 175), which provides $4,625 per student in grades 7–12 for dual credit courses, AP exams, and workforce certifications.

These programs address different expenses. HB 93 reimburses parent-purchased home curriculum through the tax system. AO funds specific academic courses and exams through state-managed per-transaction approvals. A family with a high school student can potentially access both simultaneously.

For a family with two children in grades 5 and 10, the combined potential benefit is:

• HB 93: $5,000 (grade 5) + $5,000 (grade 10) = $10,000 in curriculum cost reimbursement
• AO (grade 10 only): $4,625 for dual credit and exam fees
• Combined: up to $14,625 per year

That math assumes full credit utilization and qualifying expenses at scale — most families won't hit every ceiling — but it illustrates why understanding these programs before withdrawing matters.

What Happens if You Miss the First Application Window

If you withdraw in, say, February 2026 and incur qualifying expenses that same month, you've already missed the January 15 – March 15 window for the 2025 tax year. You cannot claim February 2026 expenses in the 2026 window — that window covers 2025 calendar year expenses.

What you can do: begin tracking every eligible expense from your withdrawal date forward. All 2026 expenses can be claimed in the January–March 2027 window. You lose one partial year of the credit, but you don't lose ongoing eligibility.

This is why timing the withdrawal matters. Families who withdraw in September or October and begin buying curriculum immediately have several months of creditable expenses before the next window opens. Families who withdraw in February miss the upcoming window for those early purchases.

Starting the Withdrawal Process

The HB 93 credit doesn't require any interaction with your school district — but your withdrawal from the school system does. Idaho doesn't mandate a withdrawal letter by law, but submitting one via certified mail is essential to prevent truancy flags in the school district's automated absence tracking system.

Once that letter is received and your child's enrollment is formally closed, you're free to begin purchasing curriculum and logging expenses. The clock on your first creditable year starts the day you start spending.

The Idaho Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the withdrawal letter process, how to handle school administrator pushback, and a step-by-step checklist for setting up your homeschool to capture both HB 93 and Advanced Opportunities funding from day one.

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