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Who may take the K-12 Education Expense Credit?
You may take the Educational Expense Credit if you are an Illinois resident, are the parent or legal guardian of a qualifying child, and pay qualifying education expenses to a qualifying school in which your child is enrolled. A qualifying school is a public or private educational facility (elementary, middle, junior high, and high schools), or home school, in Illinois that meets the requirements of Section 26-1 of the School Code.
A qualifying child is a student who, during the tax year, must have been an Illinois resident, under age of 21 at the close of the school year, and a full-time student enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade at a qualifying school.
Qualifying education expenses include tuition, book fees, and lab fees.
Note: For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2017, the credit is not allowed if a taxpayer's federal adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $500,000 for returns with a federal filing status of married filing jointly, or $250,000 for all other returns.
Note: To claim the credit, the child must be a dependent on the tax return and the parent or legal guardian of the eligible student must have paid qualifying educational expenses in excess of $250 to a public or nonpublic school in Illinois. However, if your child's other parent or legal guardian files a separate return and claims the K-12 education expense credit, you may not both claim a credit for the same expenses and the total amount of credit claimed between both parents or guardians may not exceed $750.
For more information, please refer to Publication 112, Education Expense Credit - General Rules and Requirements for Schools, Home Schools, Parents, and Guardians.