WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

HB 2156

Establishing the education opportunity tax credit to provide an income tax credit for taxpayers with eligible dependent children who are not enrolled in public school.

2025-2026 Regular Session

Creates a refundable Kansas Education Opportunity Tax Credit: up to $8,000 per dependent in a private K–12 school (or $4,000 for non-accredited), reducing state revenue.

Died in Committee
#schools #taxation
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 2156

Summary — HB 2156 (Introduced Jan 28, 2025)

Establishing the Education Opportunity Tax Credit for taxpayers with dependent children not enrolled in public school (Kansas)

Main purpose

Provide a refundable income tax credit to Kansas resident individual taxpayers for each dependent child who is eligible for K–12 public school but instead attends a private school. The program is intended to reduce out‑of‑pocket education costs for families who use nonpublic schools.

Key provisions

  • Credit amounts
    • $8,000 per dependent child enrolled full time in a private school that is: (a) accredited by the State Board of Education, or (b) accredited by a national/regional agency recognized by the State Board for licensure purposes or working in good faith toward such accreditation.
    • $4,000 per dependent child enrolled full time in a non‑accredited private school.
  • Refundability and timing
    • The credit is refundable (excess beyond tax liability is refunded).
    • Taxpayers may claim the credit in advance during the tax year by applying to the Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) or claim it on their annual tax return.
  • Annual program cap and escalation
    • Tax Year (TY) 2025 cap: $125,000,000 total credits.
    • For TY 2026 and later, the cap is the prior year’s cap unless the prior year’s claimed credits were ≥90% of that cap; if so, the cap increases by 25% for the next year. KDOR must publish any cap increases on its website.
  • Priority and eligibility limits
    • If applications exceed the cap, KDOR gives priority to taxpayers who previously received the credit (note: no priority mechanism in effect for TY2025 beyond this wording).
    • A taxpayer cannot claim the credit for a child who received a scholarship under the Tax Credit for Low Income Students Scholarship Program (TCLISSP) for that tax year.
    • Taxpayers must provide valid Social Security numbers for each dependent for whom they claim the credit.
  • Verification, reporting, and enforcement
    • KDOR may consult the State Department of Education solely to verify public‑school enrollment status; taxpayers acknowledge this possible data sharing.
    • KDOR must report to the Legislature by January 15 each year on the credit for the second preceding tax year, including total credits claimed and known fraud.
    • The bill imposes penalties for fraudulent claims (the introduced version prescribes a civil penalty under K.S.A. 79‑3228(e); the fiscal note also describes criminal penalties in its summary).

Fiscal impact (estimated)

  • KDOR and the Division of the Budget estimate the credit will significantly reduce State General Fund revenues.
  • Department of Revenue projects the TY2025 cap ($125.0M) would be fully claimed. Because credits can be claimed across tax years, the Division projects:
    • FY 2026 SGF reduction: $281.3 million (includes credits claimed for TY2025 and TY2026).
    • FY 2027 reduction: $195.4 million.
    • FY 2028 reduction: $244.1 million.
  • Rationale: There were 26,395 private school students in Kansas (Dept. of Education); at $8,000 each that would exceed the initial cap ($211.16M), so the cap is likely to bind.
  • KDOR indicated implementation/operational costs (document cites ~$271,306, truncated in fiscal note).

Who is affected

  • Beneficiaries: Kansas resident individual taxpayers with dependent K–12 children not enrolled in public school (private school attendees).
  • Excluded: Children who received TCLISSP scholarships in the same tax year.
  • State impacts: Reduced State General Fund revenues; increased KDOR administrative workload; potential effects on public school funding dynamics.
  • Oversight/verification: KDOR and State Department of Education.

Procedural status / timeline

  • Introduced: January 28, 2025.
  • Referred to: Committee on Education (per bill information).
  • If enacted, applies beginning with tax year 2025.

Note: The summary is based on the introduced Kansas version and its fiscal note; other documents in the file (Arizona, Illinois text snippets) appear unrelated to this Kansas bill.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.