Make Sure Your Tax Benefits Are Not Taken Away - Teacher Tax Relief Act (H.R. 549)

Teachers, did you have to wait until February to file your taxes this year so you could claim the educator tax deduction? Were you frustrated because of the wait? Don't worry, next year legislators have decided to do away with the $250 deduction all together.

In 2006, legislators voted to do away with the educator tax deduction (along with the State and Local General Sales Tax Deduction and Higher Education Tuition and Fees Deduction) making the 2005 filing season the last year it could be claimed. Thanks to the efforts of the National Education Association (NEA), and Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and John Warren (R-VA), the educator tax deduction was extended in December to include the 2006 filing season. Tax software had already been formatted and shipped by then, so tax preparers had to wait until the IRS updated its software to file returns claiming this deduction until February 3. That meant teachers that received their W-2 early, or desired to use their last pay stub had to wait. As it stands now, this is the last year teachers will be able to claim the educator tax deduction.

Before you get too worked up about not being able to claim the educator tax deduction for next year, there is still some hope. The NEA is fighting to have the educator tax deduction extended past the 2006 filing season and made permanent. They are also fighting to have the deduction raised to $400. However, in order to make this happen they will need your help. To help get this proposal passed, simply go to NEA's Legislative Action Center (www.nea.org/lac/edtax), identify your local Representative in Congress, and send your Representative an email urging them to support the Teacher Tax Relief Act (H.R. 549). You, your Representative, and the NEA can help get this proposal passed.

If H.R. 549 is passed, the educator tax deduction will be made permanent, increased from $250 to $400, and expanded to cover professional development expenses. Studies have shown that teachers spend nearly double the proposed increased amount yearly, and to lose this tax benefit would be an injustice teachers. So teachers, make sure the educator tax deduction is not taken away and you receive a tax benefit for spending your hard earned dollars to funtion in your class.