Educator Expense Deduction 2026
Current year
The 2026 Educator Expense Deduction is $350.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2025
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum deduction | $300 | $350 | +$50 (+16.7%) |
Who it applies to
The deduction belongs to an eligible educator, a term defined in § 62 and not restated by the revenue procedure. What Rev. Proc. 2025-32 fixes is the ceiling and the kind of spending it covers: expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator in connection with books, supplies, computer equipment including related software and services, other equipment, and supplementary materials used by the eligible educator in the classroom. Supplies for courses of instruction in health or physical education count only if they are nonathletic. The $350 attaches to expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator, and the revenue procedure states no separate combined amount for a joint return. Spending above $350 does not enlarge the deduction for the year, and spending below it limits the deduction to what was actually paid or incurred.
What changed this year, and why
The educator expense deduction goes from $300 for the prior year to $350 for taxable years beginning in 2026. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states the figure the same way Rev. Proc. 2024-40 did: as the amount of the deduction allowed under § 162 that consists of expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator, described in § 62, for classroom materials. Only the ceiling moved. The list of covered spending, the classroom use requirement and the exclusion for supplies in health or physical education courses are unchanged, and the adjustment is generally determined by reference to § 1(f).
Common questions
- How much can teachers deduct for classroom expenses in 2026?
- The amount is $350 for taxable years beginning in 2026. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states it as the amount of the deduction allowed under § 162 that consists of expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator for classroom materials, under § 62. It is a ceiling rather than a flat deduction, so an educator whose qualifying spending came to less than $350 deducts the smaller amount.
- How much did the educator expense deduction increase for 2026?
- It moved from $300 for the prior year to $350 for taxable years beginning in 2026. That is the annual inflation adjustment, generally determined by reference to § 1(f). Nothing else about the item changed: the covered spending, the requirement that materials be used in the classroom, and the exclusion for certain health and physical education supplies are stated in the same terms as before.
- What classroom expenses qualify for the educator deduction?
- Rev. Proc. 2025-32 describes them as expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator in connection with books, supplies, computer equipment including related software and services, other equipment, and supplementary materials used by the eligible educator in the classroom. Classroom use is written into the description, so materials bought for other purposes fall outside the terms in which the revenue procedure sets the $350 amount.
- Are physical education supplies covered by the educator deduction?
- Only some of them. The revenue procedure's description of qualifying supplies excludes nonathletic supplies for courses of instruction in health or physical education, and that is the only carve-out it names within the list of covered items. Books, computer equipment including related software and services, other equipment, and supplementary materials used in the classroom carry no comparable exclusion in the text setting $350.
- Can I deduct more than $350 if I spent more on supplies?
- Not under this provision for 2026. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states $350 as the amount of the deduction allowed for taxable years beginning in 2026, so qualifying spending above that figure does not increase it. The revenue procedure adjusts the dollar amount only; it provides no carryover of unused spending into another year and no larger amount for any particular subject or grade level.
- Is the $350 educator deduction per teacher or per return?
- It is tied to expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator, so the ceiling is measured against an individual educator's own qualifying spending rather than against a tax return. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states no separate combined amount for a joint return. Whether a given person is an eligible educator is settled by § 62, which the revenue procedure cites rather than restates.
- Which tax year does the $350 educator deduction apply to?
- Taxable years beginning in 2026. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 states in its effective date section that its 2026 adjusted items apply to taxable years beginning in 2026, and reserves a calendar year rule for a listed group of items that does not include this deduction. An educator on a non-calendar taxable year uses $350 for the taxable year that begins in 2026.
- Where does the 2026 educator expense deduction amount come from?
- From the section of Rev. Proc. 2025-32 covering certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers. That revenue procedure modifies Rev. Proc. 2024-40 and states inflation-adjusted items for 2026 for the Code as in effect on October 9, 2025. It also notes that amendments enacted after that date may require taxpayers to consult additional guidance on whether the adjustment still applies.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Educator expense deduction headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The 900 hour rule, and who counts as an educator
The IRS defines an eligible educator as someone who works in a classroom setting from kindergarten through grade 12. This includes teachers, instructors, counselors, principals, and aides. The key requirement is that you must work in a school for at least 900 hours during a school year. This threshold applies to the time you spend in the school building and classroom, not just teaching time. If you work fewer than 900 hours in the school year, you do not qualify for the deduction, even if you are otherwise employed in an educational role. The deduction applies to educators who work in public, private, or religious schools that provide elementary or secondary education as determined under state law. College professors and other post-secondary educators do not qualify for this particular deduction. The 900-hour test is applied on a school-year basis, not a calendar-year basis, so it accounts for the typical academic schedule that educators follow.
An eligible educa- tor is a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide who worked in a school for at least 900 hours during a school year.
2025 Instructions for Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (IRS)
What you may actually deduct
Once you qualify as an eligible educator, you may deduct only qualified expenses. The deduction covers ordinary and necessary amounts you pay for professional development courses directly related to the curriculum you teach or the students you serve. It also covers books, supplies, equipment - including computer equipment, software, and related services - and other materials used in your classroom. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your educational field. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your work as an educator; it does not need to be strictly required to qualify. Additionally, amounts paid in 2025 for personal protective equipment, disinfectant, and other supplies used to prevent the spread of coronavirus also count as qualified expenses. You must pay these costs yourself; any amount reimbursed by your employer or paid with tax-advantaged education funds must be subtracted before you calculate your deduction.
Qualified expenses include ordinary and necessary expenses paid: • For professional development courses you have taken related to the curriculum you teach or to the students you teach; or • In connection with books, sup- plies, equipment (including computer equipment, software, and services), and other materials used in the classroom.
2025 Instructions for Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (IRS)
Home schooling and health class supplies are out
Two categories of expense are expressly excluded from the deduction. First, you may not deduct any amount paid for home schooling, even if you are also a classroom teacher. The expenses must be incurred in your capacity as an educator working in a school, not as a parent teaching your own children at home. Second, you may not deduct expenses for non-athletic supplies used in courses in health or physical education. Athletic equipment for those classes remains eligible, but items such as posters, handouts, or instructional materials for a health or physical education course do not qualify. If you teach both a regular classroom subject and a health or physical education course, you must allocate your supply costs and claim only the portion that is not tied to the excluded courses. These exclusions apply regardless of whether the expenses would otherwise meet the ordinary and necessary test.
Qualified expenses don’t include ex- penses for home schooling or for non- athletic supplies for courses in health or physical education.
2025 Instructions for Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (IRS)
Four amounts that cut the deduction first
Even if you paid qualified expenses during the year, you must first subtract any tax-free educational benefits you received that relate to those same costs. Four specific amounts reduce your qualified expenses before the deduction limit is applied. First, subtract any excludable interest from U.S. series EE and I savings bonds that you reported on Form 8815. Second, subtract any nontaxable earnings or distributions from a qualified tuition program. Third, subtract any nontaxable distribution of earnings from a Coverdell education savings account. Fourth, subtract any reimbursement your employer paid for these expenses that was not included in box 1 of your Form W-2. The result is the net qualified expense amount you may deduct, subject to the overall dollar limit. You cannot use the same expense to support both a tax-free benefit and the educator expense deduction.
You must reduce your qualified ex- penses by the following amounts. • Excludable U.S. series EE and I savings bond interest from Form 8815. • Nontaxable qualified tuition pro- gram earnings or distributions. • Any nontaxable distribution of Coverdell education savings account earnings. • Any reimbursements you received for these expenses that weren’t reported to you in box 1 of your Form W-2.
2025 Instructions for Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (IRS)
- Maximum deduction
the amount of the deduction allowed under § 162 that consists of expenses paid or incurred by an eligible educator in connection with books, supplies (other than nonathletic supplies for courses of instruction in health or physical education), computer equipment (including related software and services) and other equipment, and supplementary materials used by the eligible educator in the classroom is $350.
By year
Every published year
11 years on record, 2026 back to 2016. Each year links to its own page, its own document and its own verification date.