Idaho Parents Who Received New Private Tax Credit Earned Average of $178,000 Per Year, Report Shows

The Idaho State Tax Commission’s Parental Choice Tax Credit Program Comprehensive Report found that the average parent who received one of Idaho’s new private education tax credits had an adjusted gross income of $178,000 a year, more than double the income of an average Idaho family. The U.S. Census Bureau reports Idaho’s median household income is $84,234.

The report, the first major state-analysis published on the $50 million new tax credit, was created by the Idaho Legislature in 2025 and signed into law by Gov. Brad Little. The tax credit was one of the most discussed bills of 2025, with critics calling it a major shift in education policy by making state funding available for private school tuition and expenses outside of the state’s K-12 public school system.

The report states that 55% of the 6,875 Idaho parents who received one of the tax credits earned more than 300% of the federal poverty level on their 2024 tax returns. That compares to 45% of parents who were at or below 300% of the federal poverty level, which is the income level legislators said they would prioritize when they created the tax credit.

Gov. Brad Little issued a statement saying that transparency and accountability around the tax credit are important. “Transparency and accountability are important to ensuring the Parental Choice Tax Credit works as intended and serves Idaho families well,” Little said. “The Legislature called for transparency, and my administration went above and beyond to provide as much information and data as possible while protecting taxpayers’ personal information. This report gives policymakers and the public a clearer picture of the program and provides the best available data to evaluate its effectiveness, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure it continues to serve Idahoans well.”

Democrats renewed their calls to repeal the tax credit or at least change the requirements so high income earners cannot benefit from the program. “Idahoans were sold a lie about this voucher scheme,” Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said in a written statement. “We were told this program would help low-income children leave public schools for supposedly better-performing private schools. Instead, more than half of the families awarded tax credits are above the income threshold Republicans promised to prioritize, and nearly three-quarters of students have never attended an Idaho public school.”

The conservative Mountain States Policy Center, which backed the tax credit, said the report shows the tax credit is “a monumental success.” “The Idaho Tax Commission has released its first in-depth report on year one of the state’s new parental choice tax credit, and the overwhelming evidence shows it has been a monumental success,” Mountain States Policy Center officials wrote.

The report also shows that two-thirds of the parents who applied for the tax credit lived in Idaho’s three biggest counties. Of the 6,875 parents who applied for the tax credit, 4,527, or