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🎓 Idaho School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships

Which Idaho education savings accounts, scholarships and tax credits a homeschool family can use, what they pay for, and where Idaho stands on school choice — from our Idaho guide.

Overseen byThe Idaho Legislature, under Idaho Code 63-3029N (House Bill 93 of 2025, amended by House Bill 934 of 2026). The Idaho Supreme Court upheld the law on February 5, 2026.
Administered byThe Idaho State Tax Commission. Families apply through their Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) account; program details are on myschoolchoice.idaho.gov. The money goes to the parent, either as a refundable credit on the Idaho Form 40 or as a one-time advance payment to the parent's bank account.
Amount per student, 2026 tax yearUp to $5,000 per eligible child, or up to $7,500 for a child with a disability who requires ancillary personnel, for qualifying costs paid in calendar year 2026. Statewide credits are capped at $50 million per tax year. The credit and the advance payment are not Idaho taxable income.
Who is eligibleFull-year Idaho resident parents (including legal guardians and licensed foster parents) of children age 5 to 18 at any time during the tax year (5 to 21 with a qualifying disability) who are claimed as dependents on the parent's full-year Idaho resident return. There is no income limit for the credit. The advance payment is only for families whose modified adjusted gross income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level.
Application window / next datesApplications for the 2026 tax credit, or an advance payment awarded in 2027, open January 15, 2027 and close March 15, 2027, in TAP. The law requires award notices within 30 days of the window closing. If the $50 million cap isn't reached, the Tax Commission must reopen applications until August 15 or until the money runs out. The 2026 windows (January 15 – March 15 and May 21 – July 17, 2026) are closed.
Homeschool statusHomeschool families can apply. The Tax Commission's 2026 eligibility checklist defines a qualifying "nonpublic school" as a private school, homeschool, microschool or learning pod, and the law says homeschooling is not public school enrollment. A parent cannot claim payment for their own teaching, and any semester of full- or part-time public, charter or virtual charter enrollment is excluded.

How the tax credit works for homeschool families

Idaho doesn't fund an account or send money to a school. The program reimburses parents. Each year you choose one of two ways to receive it for each child, and either way you must apply and be approved first. The Tax Commission says plainly that a credit claimed on a return without an approved application won't be allowed.

The tax credit: you pay for qualifying costs during the calendar year, apply in the January–March window that follows, and, if you're approved, claim the credit on that year's Idaho Form 40. Because it is refundable, you get the full approved amount back even if it is more than the Idaho tax you owe. For example, the window that opens January 15, 2027 is for the 2026 credit, which covers qualifying costs you paid during 2026. Approval lets you claim up to the awarded amount; it does not pre-approve your expenses, and everyone is subject to audit.

The advance payment: families whose modified adjusted gross income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level can ask for the money up front instead. It is paid once, to the bank account on the application, within 60 days of the award notice and no later than August 30 (for the second 2026 period, by November 14, 2026). You then have to match it to paid receipts for qualifying costs in the TAP Parental Choice Tax Credit Dashboard and repay anything you can't document. For the advance awarded in 2026, that reconciliation is due by December 31, 2027. A child can get an advance payment only once in their whole K–12 career, and a child who has already received a credit can't later get an advance. The Tax Commission says the advance awarded in 2026 is taxable on the 2026 federal return.

Who gets funded first: the pool is capped at $50 million a year and works on a first-come, first-served basis within priority groups. In 2026, families at or below 300% of the federal poverty level came first. Starting with the 2027 application period, the law gives first priority to parents who received a credit the year before, then to parents whose taxable income is at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, then everyone else in the order applications arrive. The Tax Commission keeps a waiting list.

How 2026 went: in the first window (January 15 – March 15, 2026) the Tax Commission received 6,069 applications for 10,809 students and awarded $33.4 million in credits and $8.84 million in advance payments. It reopened May 21 with more than $7 million left. The second window closed July 17, 2026, because the program had reached its nearly $50 million limit. The final count for 2026 was 7,055 applications covering 12,561 students. The Tax Commission's program statistics show $37.7 million in credits and

1.6 million in advance payments awarded for 2026, with no money left.

Read the full section in our Idaho guide

What the money can pay for

The law lists the qualified expenses (Idaho Code 63-3029N(2)(f)), and the Tax Commission says it can't pre-qualify individual purchases or publish a complete list. For homeschool families, these are the costs that may qualify:

  • A base curriculum that covers, at a minimum, English language arts, math, science and social studies. Starting with 2026 expenses, the curriculum can come from more than one vendor, as long as together it covers no more than K–12 academic instruction.
  • Textbooks
  • Tutoring in the four core subjects
  • Tuition or fees at a private school, microschool or learning pod that teaches the four core subjects
  • Nationally standardized assessments and prep courses for them, college admission tests, Advanced Placement exams and industry-recognized certification exams
  • Transportation to and from the place of academic instruction, logged by date, destination and miles. The Tax Commission says this covers trips between home and the qualifying nonpublic school, not field trips, music lessons or sports. Mileage is paid at the state rate: $0.70 a mile for 2025 through August 31, 2026, and $0.75 a mile from September 1, 2026.
  • Not covered: extracurricular and non-academic activities, a parent's own teaching, uniforms, entertainment, vacations, vehicles, gaming computers, big-screen TVs, dual-credit college courses, anything bought with an Empowering Parents grant, and anything paid for by Advanced Opportunities.

Read the full section in our Idaho guide

The 2026 court ruling and law changes

On February 5, 2026, the Idaho Supreme Court denied a petition challenging the tax credit (Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution v. State of Idaho, Docket 53264-2025) and dismissed it, leaving the program in place.

On April 2, 2026, Governor Little signed House Bill 934, which applies retroactively to January 1, 2026. Among other changes, it allows the required curriculum to come from more than one vendor, says that public school sports and extracurriculars, activities without academic credit, homeschooling and fee-paid IDLA courses are not public school enrollment, sets the advance-payment age limit at 19 (22 with a qualifying disability) by December 31, and, starting in 2027, gives application priority to parents who received a credit the year before.

The older Empowering Parents grant program ended. The Legislature eliminated it in 2025 (Senate Bill 1142), and no 2025–26 grants were awarded. Families who received earlier grants have three years from the date of issue to spend them in ClassWallet: grants issued in 2024 expire in 2027 and grants issued in 2025 expire in 2028. Purchases made with Empowering Parents money can't also be claimed for the tax credit.

Read the full section in our Idaho guide

Other Idaho programs: dual enrollment, Advanced Opportunities, scholarships and sports

College scholarships: the state-managed scholarships on Scholarship Idaho, including the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship, are open to graduates of an Idaho high school, home school, or Idaho GED/HSE program. The Opportunity Scholarship pays up to $3,500 a year, renewable for up to four years, and requires at least a 2.7 GPA and a FAFSA by March 1 (for this year's applicants, March 1, 2027). The Idaho LAUNCH grant for job training and college programs is also open to home school graduates in the current graduating class who are under 21 by April 15; it covers 80% of a program's tuition and fees, up to $8,000. The application opens October 1 and closes April 15, with a November 30 priority deadline because funds are limited. (Next Steps Idaho, Idaho Workforce Development Council)

Read the full section in our Idaho guide

Special education for homeschooled students

Tax credit: in the Parental Choice Tax Credit, a student can be considered for the $7,500 disability amount (2026) if you document a diagnosis by an Idaho licensed health care provider or eligibility for services under an IEP, and the student also requires ancillary personnel as defined in Idaho Code 33-2001(1). The Tax Commission says the money can't be used for a semester when your child was enrolled in a public school. Its exceptions starting with 2026 expenses are public school sports and extracurriculars, activities with no academic credit and IDLA courses the state doesn't pay for. Its FAQ doesn't mention dual enrollment for special education services, so ask the school and the Tax Commission before you dual enroll.

Read the full section in our Idaho guide

Articles for Idaho families

Official sources

Summarized from our Idaho guide (as of October 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

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