Legislative Update from SCHEA

Many thanks to South Carolina Home Educators' Association for passing this along!
 

Tax Bills - H4624 & S279

There have been several questions about two bills that are currently in the legislature in South Carolina--one in the Senate and the other in the House.  There are some differences in them--one is a credit against your taxable income, the other is a deduction against your taxable income.  One would go into place this year, the other next year.  Neither one of these bills is tied to family income.  Since both of these bills are deductions or credits, they would not have the strings attached that a voucher would have.  Essentially they would allow you to keep what is rightfully yours anyway and would help to offset some of your expenses. Here is the problem.  S 279 was introduced in January of 2013 and has been sitting in the Senate Finance Committee ever since.  H 4624 was introduced in February of 2014 and is currently sitting in the House Ways and Means Committee.  In order for either one of these bills to pass, they need to be passed before this legislative session ends in May of 2014--just two months from now.   After that, they are null and void and the process will need to begin again in January with a new legislature.   That means the bill needs to come out of committee, be voted on on the floor, be sent to the other chamber, go through committee and be voted on there.  All of this is possible--but not likely unless our legislators begin to feel some pressure.   If you like either one (or both) of these bills, this is the time to do something about it. Waiting until Home School Day at the Capitol will be too late.  You can go to www.bosticlaw.com  to sign and share a petition.  There is also a Facebook page for H4624. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SCHomeandIndependentSchooling/. Either send your representative an email thanking them for their support or an email to encourage their support; ask them to sign onto this bill as a co-sponsor.   Your legislators need to hear from you!  They value your input.   You can find more information at www.schea.net/legislation   H 4624 Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, a parent or legal guardian who teaches one or more qualifying students at home as authorized pursuant to Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47 may claim a credit against their State of South Carolina taxable income of up to five thousand dollars but not to exceed amounts spent on instruction-related expenditures. The credit allowed by this subsection may be claimed fully for the tax year in which the home school term begins provided the qualifying student completes the school term for that school year.   S 279  Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, a parent or legal guardian who teaches one or more qualifying students at home as authorized pursuant to Section 59-65-40, 59-65-45, or 59-65-47 may take a deduction against their State of South Carolina taxable income of up to two thousand dollars per home school student for instruction-related expenditures.  This deduction is limited to a total of two thousand dollars per child per year regardless of the number of taxpayers incurring home school instruction-related expenses on behalf of that child. The deduction allowed by this subsection is fully deductible for the calendar year in which the home school term begins provided the qualifying student completes the school term for that school year.

South Carolina Home Educators Association
PO Box 2707, Irmo, SC  29063
803-772-2330
schea@schea.net
www.schea.net