I have only taught for 4 years in a KY school. The districts are funded unequally, so our district gets less money and poor districts get more. In the past 4 years I have bought and paid for out of my own money: a projector, a digital camera, a document camera and a flip video camera. I do afterschool tutoring, and do any professional development that pays me a stipend. I take this extra money (and more) to buy things for my classroom. If I want it, I have to buy it. My department head has taught for over 25 years and does not use technolgy. Therefore, she will not spend any department money on it. I buy used books from library book sales, yard sales, I volunteer at an organization that will let me then let me "shop" for free donated items. The clerks at Staples know me by sight. I go in there every time they have something free with rebate. I had to beg my department head to spend $300 a year to buy new science magazines for the kids to read. The old magazines were 10 years old. The $250 tax write off is a joke. They should make it $1,000 a year for teachers. That MIGHT begin to cover what I spend. If I feel like I need something to do a better job of teaching I CANNOT rely on my school to purchase it for me. Sad, but true.

My accountant told me to claim the $600 that I spent out of pocket on school materials when I filed my taxes. We were audited ... and these were not allowed and caused us to have to pay. So beware ... you are only allowed to claim $250. The moral of my story is ... I am not going to spend more than $250 on school any more. Even if my students and I have to do without!

I agree wholecloth with KY.

Last year I bought my own SmartBoard. Tired of waiting after keeping my requests to bare minimum from school and just asking for a SB for 3 years. Then our school gets a grant for SB and other materials but the grant is only for math and science classrooms. Imagine my frustration. I am 59 and use more technology in my English classroom than most other younger teachers. Teaching in a small, poor, rural school means that if I want it I have to buy it. Spent over $8,000 last year, but won't do that again. It's almost as if the altruistic natures of teachers and our desire to give the best to our kids enables the districts to shirk their duty.

It is totally unfair that we can't claim all the money we spend. My largest item on credit card bills is school-related supplies. Plus I'm a librarian. When I spend, it's for more than one class. What may help is if you can attach the funds to an organization that provides charitable donations to teachers in your school. That way you can donate to that organization who can in turn donate to your school, or even to you. Hey, maybe we as teachers need to push our unions a little to help us either create or find ways to get credit for what we "give".

Like most teachers, I spend my own money throughout the school year. I do receive some money from the state of Florida to spend accordingly. However, each year the money that comes from the state decreases.

My school has set up a system that does help some of us. We set up a fund that the parents contribute to. Each class has their own fund. The parents are asked to give $10.00 each semester. This is a voluntary program and we do not enforce it. I usually get money from half of my parents. The teachers use this money mainly for special projects. For example, when I teach our M&M math unit, I use the money from the fund to purchase the M&M's. This of course is a fraction of what I spend on my classroom but every little bit adds up!

It's a travesty that businesspeople can write off expensive lunches, golf matches, office equipment, etc., as long as it involved clients or was for the business. But if educators spend more than $250 on books, magazines, films, or other educational materials for their classrooms they can't write it off. In 2003 I even used my money from coaching volleyball to buy my own laptop because dealing with our school's outdated Apple G3s was taking up so much of my time.

I think when I was a classroom teacher I just wrote off however much I spent and luckily I was never audited. When people in other (often more male-dominated) professions have limits on what they can write off, I'll gladly stick to the rules.

Not much will change until we protest.

I was wondering if I could get a deduction on the money spent on a new laptop, if I have proof that I work as a tutor and pay taxes on the money I earn? I get a 1099 for tax purposes. My husband seems to think since I am an independent contractor/self employed individual, I can claim a new laptop. Any thoughts??? Thanks!!

I have spent around $2500 per year for 22 years.

Another teacher told me that there was something new with tax laws for teacher's this year but I can never get her to slow down and tell me about it. Has anyone else heard anything or is she just confused?