Teacher tax deductions: what educators can claim and the receipts to keep

Teachers get one break that other employees lost. The educator expense deduction is an adjustment to income for classroom costs you paid yourself, so you claim it on Schedule 1 even if you take the standard deduction (Form 1040 instructions). You do not need Form 2106 for it (IRS Publication 529).

The cap rises for 2026. For 2025, each eligible educator can deduct up to $300, or $600 on a joint return when both spouses teach, with no more than $300 each (Form 1040 instructions). For tax years beginning in 2026, the cap is $350 per educator (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

Only costs you were not paid back count. The deduction is reduced by reimbursements not shown in box 1 of your W-2, and by tax-free 529, Coverdell or savings bond money used for school costs (IRS Topic 458). So a classroom grant or a PTA refund for the same supplies comes off the total.

An eligible educator is a K-12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aide who works at least 900 hours in a school year (IRS Topic 458). Substitutes and aides qualify on the same test, so the hours matter more than the title. A contract or an HR letter that shows your hours is the proof to keep.

Preschool teachers join the list from 2026. A 2026 law added early childhood teachers, for costs paid in tax years after 2025 (26 U.S.C. 62). Their school or child care center must serve more than 2 children under age 6 who do not live there (26 U.S.C. 62). For 2025, a preschool teacher at a center that is not a K-12 school does not qualify (IRS Topic 458).

Qualified costs are books, supplies, computer equipment and software, other equipment and supplementary materials you use in class (IRS Topic 458). Professional development courses count too (IRS Topic 458). For health or physical education classes, only athletic supplies qualify (IRS Topic 458).

Sort the receipts by type as you buy. For example, keep the bookstore receipt for a class set of novels, the order confirmation for a document camera and the bill for a reading app license. A card statement shows the payment, but an itemized receipt shows what you bought.

• Books, workbooks and printed materials for students
• Classroom supplies such as markers, paper, bins and lab materials
• Computer equipment, software and online services used for teaching
• Professional development course fees tied to what you teach
• Athletic gear, but only for a health or PE course

The 2025 law added a second route for teachers who itemize. For tax years after 2025, educator expenses are no longer a miscellaneous itemized deduction, so they escape the bar on those deductions (26 U.S.C. 67). The definition drops the dollar cap and also covers coaches and interscholastic sports administrators (26 U.S.C. 67).

In practice, a teacher who spends $900 on a classroom in 2026 takes $350 above the line (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The rest helps only if they itemize on Schedule A instead of taking the standard deduction. So keep every receipt, not just enough to reach the cap.

Other costs a teacher pays as an employee are still barred on the federal return. A miscellaneous itemized deduction is a write-off that used to be limited to the part above 2% of AGI, and unreimbursed job costs were in that group (IRS Publication 529). Union dues, license renewals, driving between schools and conference travel all fall there, and none is allowed for any year after 2017 (26 U.S.C. 67). The 2025 law made that bar permanent (26 U.S.C. 67). Ask the district to reimburse them, and hold on to the receipts for a state return that still counts them.

The new overtime deduction rarely helps a classroom teacher. The IRS lists teachers among the professional employees exempt from FLSA overtime, and overtime paid to an exempt employee does not qualify (IRS FS-2026-13, overtime deduction FAQs). Hourly support staff who are not exempt may still qualify, so they should check their W-2.

Side work follows its own rules. Tutoring, summer camp jobs or selling lesson plans online are business income, often on Form 1099-NEC. Supplies bought for that work go on Schedule C, not on the educator line.

Grad school helps on its own line. The lifetime learning credit covers courses that build job skills, up to $2,000 a return for 2025, using Form 1098-T (IRS Publication 970). The Form 1098-T guide shows which boxes feed that credit.

Teachers buy in small amounts all year, and the receipts fade or get lost. A short routine beats a shoebox found in March. The steps below take a few minutes a month and give your preparer one clean total.

Keep personal and classroom items apart at the till when you can. A mixed receipt from a big store is hard to read a year later. If you must mix, circle the class items and write the class name on the receipt.

1. Photograph each receipt the day you buy, and save it in a folder named for the school year.
2. Write on it what the item was for, such as "fourth-grade science kits".
3. Log the date, store, amount and any refund in one running list.
4. When a grant, the PTA or the school pays you back, mark the receipt as reimbursed.
5. In January, total the unreimbursed amount and send the list with your W-2.

• IRS Topic 458: Eligible educators work 900 hours in a K-12 school; qualified expenses; reduced by reimbursements not in W-2 box 1 and by tax-free education funds.
• Form 1040 instructions: For 2025, an eligible educator deducts up to $300 on Schedule 1 line 11, $600 for two educators filing jointly, not more than $300 each.
• Rev. Proc. 2025-32: For tax years beginning in 2026, the educator expense deduction is $350 (section 4.12).
• 26 U.S.C. 62: P.L. 119-111 adds early childhood teachers, at schools or child care centers serving more than 2 children under 6, for expenses in tax years after 2025.
• 26 U.S.C. 67: Miscellaneous itemized deductions are barred for years after 2017 with no end date; from 2026, educator expenses without the cap, including coaches, are excluded from that bar.
• IRS Publication 529: Miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2%-of-AGI limit, including unreimbursed employee expenses, are no longer allowed; educator expenses are an adjustment to income without Form 2106.
• IRS Publication 970: The lifetime learning credit is up to $2,000 per return for 2025.
• IRS FS-2026-13, overtime deduction FAQs: Professional employees, including teachers in elementary and secondary schools, are exempt from FLSA overtime and receive no qualified overtime compensation (Q4).