ESA & Scholarships/Iowa
State tax credit
Iowa
Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit (homeschool route) — the Students First ESA is for accredited private schools only
Checked 18 September 2026
What this means for homeschool families
Homeschoolers can use it. The Students First ESA is for accredited private schools only; homeschoolers use the Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit.
The details are below.
How it works
Iowa’s headline programme, the Students First ESA, is universal by income but only for students enrolled full time in an accredited nonpublic school — a homeschooled child cannot use it unless they enrol in one. For homeschooling families the state route is the Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit, which the Department of Revenue says covers dependents “receiving private instruction in Iowa (also referred to as homeschooling)”. You claim it on your state return against documented spending.
- Programme
- Tuition and Textbook Tax Credit (homeschool route) — the Students First ESA is for accredited private schools only
- Administered by
- Iowa Department of Revenue (credit); Iowa Department of Education and Odyssey (ESA)
- Credit amount
- Credit: 25% of the first $2,000 of qualifying expenses per child — up to $500 a child. ESA: $8,148 per student for 2026-27, private-school students only.
- For homeschoolers
- Homeschoolers can use it
Who qualifies
Iowa taxpayers with a dependent in grades K-12 who is homeschooled under Iowa’s private-instruction law or attends an accredited Iowa school. There is no income limit. Expenses paid with ESA funds cannot also be claimed.
How to claim it
- Confirm you qualify for this year — see "Who qualifies" above.
- Check this year's window. The credit is claimed on your annual Iowa income tax return — there is no application window. (The ESA window for 2026-27 ran 16 April to 30 June 2026 and is closed.) Dates move every year, so confirm on the official page before you plan around them.
- Buy what you need and keep every receipt. Qualifying expenses include textbooks and other instructional materials used to teach subjects commonly taught in Iowa public schools. Materials used to teach religious tenets do not qualify. Keep itemised receipts.
- Claim it the way the programme directs — on your state return, or through its application where it has one. A credit repays documented spending; it does not pay a vendor for you, so your paperwork is the whole thing.
Official programme page: revenue.iowa.gov/taxes/tax-guidance/individual-income-tax/1040-expanded-instructions/tuition-textbook-credit-k-12. Amounts, deadlines and eligibility are set by the state and change every year — always confirm there before you plan around them.
Sources
Checked 18 September 2026 against these sources:
Historical Conquest in Iowa
Using it with Historical Conquest
The card game, the Monthly Adventure Boxes, the textbooks and the digital game are history curriculum and instructional materials — the kind of purchase this programme lists as an allowed expense. Whether a particular item is approved is the programme’s decision, so check its expense list before you order.
Not sure whether something qualifies, or need an itemised receipt or product details for a review? Ask us.
ESA Overview
What these programmes are, who they are for, and every state we cover.
Homeschool funding by state
Which states’ programmes a homeschooling family can use, and which they cannot.
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