Do parents get paid to homeschool?
Not a salary. But in some places there is real money, and what you take can change your legal status.
No state Peabody has checked pays a parent to teach. Some give homeschool families education-account money (Peabody's state pages list 18 programs), a few give tax credits (Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota and Oklahoma), and the federal scholarship starting in 2027 may help where state law treats a homeschool as a school. Taking account money can change your homeschool status, so read the rules first.
Checked October 29, 2026.
This is a plain-words summary, not legal or tax advice. Rules change: check the current law and the program's own pages, and ask a tax adviser about your family before you count on any money.
Is there a salary for homeschooling parents?
No. We found no state that pays a parent to teach their own child. The money that exists pays for things (curriculum, classes, tests) or comes back as a tax credit, and it is limited by state, income and funding.
Which states have education account money a homeschooler can use?
18 states have a program that Peabody's state pages say a homeschool family can use. In 9 of them, taking the money changes your legal status (you may no longer be a homeschool in the law's eyes), so read the state's own rules before you sign.
| State | Program | Changes your homeschool status? | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | CHOOSE Act Alabama | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Alaska | Correspondence study programs and student allotments | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Arizona | Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Arkansas | Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Florida | Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program: Personalized Education Program | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Georgia | Georgia Promise Scholarship | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Idaho | Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Indiana | Indiana Education Scholarship Account (ESA) program | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Missouri | Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (MOScholars) | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Montana | Education Savings Account (Students with Special Needs Equal Opportunity Act) | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| New Hampshire | Education Freedom Account (EFA) | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| North Carolina | Personal Education Student Accounts for Children with Disabilities (ESA+) | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| South Carolina | Education Scholarship Trust Fund (ESTF) | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Tennessee | Individualized Education Account (IEA) Program | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Texas | Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Utah | Utah Fits All Scholarship Program | Not found | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| West Virginia | Hope Scholarship Program | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
| Wyoming | Wyoming Education Savings Account (Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act) | Yes | ESA page (checked Oct 29, 2026) |
"Not found" means the state's pages we read don't say so, not that it's certain. Amounts, dates and who qualifies are on the ESA pages.
Do any states give a homeschool tax credit?
From the state law pages, these name a state income tax credit or subtraction that may apply to homeschool costs:
| State | What the page says | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Idaho | Idaho has a refundable state income tax credit, not an account: up to $5,000 per eligible student aged 5 to 18, for qualified expenses including textbooks, curricula, tutoring, nationally standardized tests and nonpublic school tuition. The law says home schooling does not count as public school enrollment, but the credit cannot be claimed for tuition or fees for instruction the parent gives. Parents apply to the State Tax Commission each year starting January 15; a cap of $50 million applies, and a one-time advance payment is available to some lower-income households. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Iowa | Iowa Code 422.12 gives an income tax credit of twenty-five percent of the first two thousand dollars paid for each K-12 dependent, for tuition and textbooks of a dependent receiving private instruction, as printed in the 2026 Code. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Minnesota | The department says Minnesota offers a dollar-for-dollar income tax credit for qualified low-income families and an education cost subtraction for many other families for up to $2650 in expenses; the Department of Revenue has the details. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
| Oklahoma | The Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit law gives a credit of up to $1,000 in qualified expenses per student each tax year for a student educated under the other means of education exception in 70 O.S. 10-105. Qualified expenses are tuition and fees for nonpublic learning programs, tutoring, textbooks, curriculum and instructional materials, and fees for nationally standardized assessments. The credit is refundable, receipts are required, and for tax year 2026 and later all such credits together are capped at $5,000,000 with a percentage reduction if claims exceed the cap. | checked Oct 27, 2026 |
Other states may have one we haven't found; ask your state's department of revenue.
Can I get money for homeschooling from the federal government?
Not directly. From 2027 the federal scholarship tax credit lets donors fund scholarships in states that opt in. Whether those scholarships can pay homeschool costs depends on how state law defines a school, and Treasury has not said. A 529 plan has the same question.
Can I claim homeschool expenses on my taxes?
There is no general federal deduction we found for homeschool costs. State credits are listed above. For your own situation ask a tax adviser; this page is not tax advice.
What does homeschooling cost if I get nothing?
It can cost very little. Peabody Homeschool and the free curricula we compare are free, and the library is free.
Sources
- 26 U.S.C. 25F, the federal scholarship tax credit (Cornell Legal Information Institute) (checked October 29, 2026)
- Federal Register: Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, proposed rules REG-117199-25 (published 2 Oct 2026) (checked October 29, 2026)
- Peabody's state homeschool law pages (each lists its statutes and education department pages) (checked October 27, 2026)