New Policy Brief Recommends Including Early Educators in Tax Deductions for Classroom Expenses

Under current federal policy, early childhood educators, including PreK teachers, are not eligible for the benefit

/EIN News/ -- OMAHA, Neb., April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new policy brief released today from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska examines the Educator Expense Deduction (EED), a federal income tax deduction of up to $300 for unreimbursed educator expenses, and recommends amending the federal tax code to include early educators.

The national average of unreimbursed early educator expenses is $198.62 per year and the report findings include a national survey where nearly 91% of early educators reported spending their own money on education expenses.

The brief is authored by the Institute’s Executive Director Walter Gilliam and Ayse Cobanoglu from the Tobin Center for Economic Policy at Yale University.

“An essential component of a thriving economy is affordable and accessible early care and education for young children. Unfortunately, access to this is uncertain in many places because of severe challenges recruiting and retaining early educators,” said Gilliam. “Including early educators in the EED is a relatively low-cost policy change that could help workforce retention efforts.”

In schools across the United States, most teachers are able to deduct up to $300 in classroom expenses from their federal taxes. This deduction helps teachers cover classroom supplies and necessities that are often paid for by the teachers themselves. However, early childhood educators, including PreK teachers across the hall from their K-12 peers, are not eligible for the same income tax deduction despite making considerably less and being harder to retain.

Kelsey Andersen is the director of Bluff’s Little Thinkers Educational Childcare Center in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, which employs 25 child care workers. Andersen budgets for classroom supplies, but her employees still dip into their own pockets for educational toys, books, posters, and holiday craft projects.

“Without a doubt, I know that my teachers are spending their money,” Andersen said. “Not being able to write that off, that’s a disservice to them at the bare minimum. For child care workers who are already severely underpaid, it might cover the majority of what they’re spending in their classroom if they were eligible for that $300.”

The full brief can be found here.

Ally Freeman
                    Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska
                    afreeman11@nebraska.edu