Senator Hassan Cosponsors Bipartisan Bill To Expand Tax Breaks for Educators

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined colleagues in cosponsoring the bipartisan Supporting Early-Childhood Educators’ Deductions (SEED) Act to allow early childhood educators to claim the same above-the-line $300 tax deduction for school supplies as K-12 teachers.

“When a teacher sees that their students are in need of school supplies to succeed, they should not have to reach into their own pocket to cover those expenses – but that happens far too often,” said Senator Hassan. “This commonsense bill will ensure that early childhood educators, just like K-12 teachers, can receive a tax deduction for supplies they buy for the children in their care. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill that will help better support our children, and I will continue to work on legislation to support early childhood education.”

In 2002, Congress created an above-the-line educator expense deduction to allow qualifying K-12 teachers and other eligible educators such as counselors and principals to deduct up to $300 of expenses incurred for classroom supplies. However, educators of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are not currently covered by the educator expense deduction. The deduction would help early childhood educators cover the cost of supplies, books, and other materials for their classrooms.

Senator Hassan is working to strengthen early childhood education. The Senator recently introduced a bill to restore full funding for educational and early-intervention services for children who experience disabilities. Last November, she joined the rest of the NH congressional delegation in announcing nearly $9 million to strengthen New Hampshire’s early childhood education system, and earlier that year the delegation announced $405,000 through the American Rescue Plan for Head Start programs.

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