The Average New York State teacher ends up spending nearly $500 a year out of pocket for classroom supplies, but Senator Chuck Schumer says too few are aware that they could be taking at least half that amount off their federal income tax.
Senator Schumer is launching a public awareness campaign about a provision added to the tax code in 2015. It includes a teacher tax deduction of $250, indexed for inflation, to help teachers cover their out-of-pocket classroom expenses.
Schumer says nearly 215,000 teachers across Upstate New York are eligible to use it, but many of them aren’t and apparently don’t know about it.