Utah Fits All Approved Expenses: What You Can and Can't Buy in 2026

Parents managing $4,000 to $8,000 in Utah Fits All funds face a common problem: the official eligible expense list reads like a government regulation, and one wrong purchase category means a rejected receipt and out-of-pocket costs.

Here's what the program actually allows, what it caps, and what it flatly prohibits — updated for the rules enacted under HB 455 and HB 467.

Approved Without Restrictions

These categories are fully approved as long as the vendor is a qualifying provider:

• Private school tuition and fees at an approved qualifying private school or microschool
• Curriculum, textbooks, and instructional materials — core academic subjects, including religious curriculum if non-sectarian academics are also taught
• Online educational software and subscriptions that serve an explicit educational purpose
• Tutoring and course instruction — tutors must pass background checks, and parents cannot pay themselves for teaching their own children
• Educational therapies — occupational, speech, or behavioral therapy from licensed providers
• Standardized testing fees — AP, SAT, ACT, and norm-referenced achievement exams

Approved With Spending Caps

HB 455 introduced percentage-based caps on two categories:

• Extracurricular activities — capped at 20% of your annual award. For a $4,000 award, that's $800 maximum. For an $8,000 award, $1,600.
• Physical education — a separate cap of 20% of your annual award, meaning PE and extracurricular each get their own 20% ceiling.
• Computer hardware and devices — capped at $1,500 per device, with only one purchase allowed every three calendar years per student. This covers laptops, desktops, and tablets.
• Transportation costs — limited to direct transit to approved educational providers.
• Chaperone passes — prohibited except for one chaperone pass per household for specific qualifying activities.

Expressly Prohibited

These items cannot be purchased with UFA funds under any circumstances:

• Ski lift passes and resort fees
• Home and school furniture (desks, chairs, whiteboards)
• Musical instruments (purchase or rental)
• General recreational equipment
• Parent wages or compensation for teaching your own child

How Purchases Actually Work

Most transactions go through the Odyssey marketplace, where category controls automatically enforce spending caps and block unauthorized purchases. If you buy from a vendor outside the marketplace, you submit a manual reimbursement claim with an itemized receipt showing the purchase date, vendor's legal name, line-item costs, and the specific good or service.

The five requirements for manual reimbursement approval: an itemized receipt identifying the good or service, the expense must be an allowable category, the provider cannot be the parent, the program manager confirms educational purpose, and the student must not be enrolled in a public school district or charter school at the time of purchase.

Avoid Rejected Receipts

The Utah Fits All Scholarship Parent Guide includes a spending category reference with the exact invoice phrasing that satisfies the platform's audit standards — so your curriculum, tutoring, and PE expenses get approved on the first submission.

See more Utah guides →