The tax credit, against Illinois’ income tax, is 25% of qualified education expenses – tuition, book fees and lab fees – over $250. However, the tax credit cannot exceed $500 per family. In order to qualify for the maximum tax credit, an eligible parent/guardian would have to spend at least $2,250 in the covered categories. It is important to note that since this is a tax credit, qualifying expenses must be incurred in the calendar year being filed for, not in a given school year. For tax year 2007, 240,290 taxpayers claimed the education expense tax credit, totaling a little more than $71.2 million.
The Illinois Education Expense Tax Credit was authorized in 1999.
