Earlier this year, teachers who buy school supplies out of their own pocket received a bit of much-needed good news from an unlikely source: the Internal Revenue Service. Yes, you read that correctly – the IRS. In March, the agency announced a raise in the special educator expense deduction for the first time in nearly two decades. On August 10, with schools and teachers preparing to go back to school, the agency reminded educators that beginning this year, qualifying educators may deduct up to $300 of qualifying out-of-pocket classroom expenses. This welcome increase of $50 is the first such raise in the deduction amount since being introduced back in 2002.
