Establishes tax credit for portion of qualifying educational expenditures made by taxpayer on behalf of child.
Summary
S3928 would create a New Jersey gross income tax credit for taxpayers who pay certain education-related costs for a qualifying dependent child. The credit equals 25% of qualifying educational expenditures, capped at $500 per child per taxable year. The bill applies to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, and takes effect immediately upon enactment.
The bill defines qualifying expenses broadly for children under 18 attending accredited nonpublic schools in New Jersey. Covered costs include tuition, required school supplies, instructional materials, annual school fees, transportation paid directly to the school when the child is not otherwise eligible for district transportation, extracurricular activity costs, music-related expenses, and field trip fees. It excludes private tutoring, yearbooks, class rings, everyday clothing, and standardized test fees such as SAT, PSAT, and ACT costs.
Impact
The bill would amend and supplement the New Jersey Gross Income Tax Act by adding a new personal income tax credit tied to nonpublic school-related spending. It would reduce state income tax liability for eligible taxpayers and create a new category of refundable or nonrefundable tax benefit depending on administration under existing tax-credit rules. The measure would primarily affect families with dependent children enrolled in private or other nonpublic K-12 schools, while also implicating the Division of Taxation in administering and verifying eligible expenditures and school eligibility.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the available context suggests the measure is presented as a straightforward tax relief proposal for families paying nonpublic school expenses. The framing is supportive of educational choice and parental cost relief, with the sponsor’s statement emphasizing broad categories of school-related spending that families already incur. No formal opposition, amendments, or recorded vote history is available in the provided materials, so there is no documented legislative controversy in the record supplied.
Contention
The main policy tension is between supporters who would view the credit as financial relief for families using nonpublic schools and critics who may question whether state tax policy should subsidize private education expenses. The bill’s scope could also be contentious because it covers a wide range of extracurricular and school-related costs, but excludes tutoring, yearbooks, class rings, everyday clothing, and standardized test fees, which may prompt debate over where to draw the line on eligible expenses. Another possible point of contention is that the credit is limited to children attending nonpublic schools, which may raise equity concerns from advocates for public-school families.
To Require Disclosure And Reporting Of Noncandidate Expenditures Pertaining To Appellate Judicial Elections; And To Adopt New Laws Concerning Appellate Judicial Campaigns.