OKPOLICY.ORG
The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act, passed as HB 1934 during the 2023 legislative session, provides tax credits to parents who send their children to private school, as well as a tax credit for homeschooled students. Several amendments to the tax credits program were approved in the 2024 session (HB 3388).
The amount of the tax credit, which can be used for tuition or fees at an accredited private school, depends on a family’s total adjusted gross income. The maximum credit of up to $7,500 per student is for families with household income less than $75,000 and the minimum credit is up to $5,000 per students for families with incomes exceeding $250,000. Parents can apply to receive the credit up-front in two installments. The homeschooling credit may be claimed up to $1,000 per student for qualified expenses, which include instructional materials, tutoring services, test preparation fees, and tuition and fees for online learning programs.
The total amount of the private school tax credit is capped at $150 million for tax year 2024, $200 million for 2025 and $250 million for future years; the homeschool credit is capped at $5 million per year. Families with incomes less than $75,000 have priority in the allocation of credits. In its first year, the program provided $150 million in tax credits to 27,800 applicants, while another 5,600 applicants were denied due to the program reaching capacity
Passage of the Parental Choice Tax Credit Act marked the culmination of many years of intense advocacy from proponents of school choice and private schools over the staunch opposition of defenders of traditional public schools, especially in rural areas, and followed the failure to enact education savings accounts or vouchers in prior legislative sessions.
