Sean Casten

U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, is co-sponsoring legislation that aims to ease the tax burden on teachers by increasing the amount educators are able to deduct for out-of-pocket classroom expenses on their annual tax return.

The Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act of 2025, which the 6^th District congressman is co-sponsoring with Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, would increase the out-of-pocket deduction from $250 to $1,000. The increase would also be indexed to inflation.

“Educators are the backbone of American society,” Casten said. “And yet, they are often forced to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to provide the necessary supplies to build a functional, comfortable, and resource-filled learning environment.

“It’s past time the federal government invests in our educators and relieves some of the tax burden they face.”

“I come from a family of public educators and time and time again I saw them gladly spend their own limited income on their students,” Burchett said. “The federal government has no business putting such a low cap on what teachers can deduct from their taxes when they are being so generous with these kids.”

The congressmen noted that teachers are paid 23 percent less in weekly wages than other college graduates and nearly one-fifth of all teachers work a second job.

They cited that 94 percent of public school teachers dig into their own pocket to pay for classroom supplies, without reimbursement.

According to the congressmen,, nearly one in 10 teachers is spending more than $1,000 on supplies needed to run classrooms and educate students. One analysis suggested that teachers, on average, spend more than $820 on out-of-pocket school supplies annually.

In addition to increasing the tax deduction for teachers’ out-of pocket expenses, the Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act would also cover all kindergarten through grade 12 educators – including counselors, principals, instructors and aides.