School supply deduction tweet rated ‘half true’

“Teachers spend $1.6 BILLION per year on school supplies. The Republican tax bill ELIMINATES their ability to deduct those expenses.” — Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 in a tweet

Feinstein, D-Calif., took aim at an element of the bill that is of interest to many K-12 teachers. The tax bill House Republicans unveiled would have scrapped a provision in the tax code that lets teachers deduct some unreimbursed classroom spending up to $250.

The California Democrat has a point in her tweet, though we found two elements of it that are worthy of some caution.

Not all of the money spent by teachers is tax-deductible. Most surveys indicate teachers spend more than $250, and the $1.6 billion Feinstein cites is an estimate of their spending, not the amount deducted.

In reality, not every teacher who qualifies for this deduction takes advantage of it. The Treasury Department estimates that in tax year 2016, the classroom expense deduction reduced federal tax revenue by $210 million. Feinstein’s $1.6 billion figure is overstated.

Our ruling

Feinstein has a point that the GOP plan would get rid of the existing deduction for out-of-pocket classroom expenses for teachers. But the tweet overstates the value of the deduction in two ways — first, because only a portion of that amount can actually be deducted under the curent law, and second, because not all teachers use the deduction.

We rate the statement Half True.

LOS ANGELES TIMES Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., took aim at a part of a bill that is of interest to many K-12 teachers.