Education tax credits just launched. Idaho Democrats want to put them on ice

Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman on Jan 19, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Democratic lawmakers called on the state Tax Commission to pause advance payments under the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which passed in the 2025 legislative session.

The program, which opened applications Thursday, authorizes refundable tax credits, often referred to as school vouchers, to reimburse families for private school tuition, tutoring, testing, transportation and curricula. Families are eligible for up to $5,000 per student, and up to $7,500 for students with special needs.

But the program lacks oversight measures, especially for the advance payments it offers, said Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow and House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel in a Monday letter to the Idaho State Tax Commission, which administers the program.

The lack of accountability measures “opens the door to fraud and abuse,” they wrote, citing misuse of similar funds in other states. In Arizona, for example, some families used public money to buy kayaks, ski passes and SeaWorld tickets.

The Tax Commission’s website advises parents who qualify for an advanced payment that they should save receipts for expenses in 2026, and must provide those receipts to prove that they spent the money on qualifying expenses. They will do so through “a reconciliation process that we’ll roll out later in 2026,” the commission’s website says.

Renee Eymann, a spokesperson for the Tax Commission, did not immediately respond to questions about how this advanced payment system works.

Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, said the lack of clarity on that part of the tax credit program is “part of my concern.”

“I don’t think we have this thing buttoned up yet,” he told the Idaho Statesman by phone.

To prevent abuse of tax credit funds, Democrats called on the commission to pause advance payments until it had systems in place to preverify vendors and expenses, audit invoices and prevent and recover misspent funds. The program should also remain on ice until challenges against it in court are completed, they argued. (Public school advocates in September sued the state to block the program from taking effect.)

“Currently, this policy rests upon shaky constitutional foundations,” Wintrow and Rubel wrote.

The bill’s sponsors — Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian; House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian; and Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle — did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the process for pausing such payments, or whether such a pause was warranted.

Law offers tax credits for private schools, homeschooling

House Bill 93 authorized up to $50 million in tax credits toward private schools and homeschooling. Within hours of opening up applications on Thursday, the program had received over 3,300 applications, the Tax Commission said. During the application window, families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level — that would be about $96,000 for a family of four — have priority, the Statesman previously reported.

Democrats’ letter echoed the concerns expressed in a late-December letter that Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, and Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, sent to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare calling for a pause in federal grant funds related to child care providers “pending implementation of enhanced program-integrity and fraud-prevention safeguards.”

It also referenced a legislative oversight office’s findings in December that a virtual charter school program in Idaho was misusing millions of dollars, and that there was little oversight of those funds in place. In his annual State of the State address, Gov. Brad Little called for the elimination of those funds.

________