House Bill 12‑44 would create a state income‑tax credit for qualifying homeschooling expenses, with a $1,000 cap for married joint filers and a $500 cap for separate filers. Representative Mike Schatz (District 39) told the Senate Finance and Tax Committee that qualified expenses would include books, tuition for online programs, computers and related software and subscriptions, and that the tax commissioner would provide forms for the credit.

Schatz said the Department of Public Instruction counted 5,602 homeschooled children last year; using per‑pupil public‑school funding figures of more than $10,000 per pupil, he argued the state’s general fund benefits financially from homeschooling relative to public‑school per‑pupil costs. "This bill will be saving the state money when you consider a cost compared to what the state gains," Schatz said.

Several senators questioned the bill's likely utility. Senator Rummel (committee member) cited tax‑department statistics showing about 65% of resident income tax returns had no tax liability in the most recent filing year, arguing many taxpayers would have no liability to offset with a nonrefundable credit. Senator Patton and Senator Powers raised concerns that most potential beneficiaries would have no tax liability and that the administrative burden and paperwork might outweigh the benefit.

Senator Wallin proposed an amendment to make the credit refundable so taxpayers with no liability could receive payment; the tax department (Matt Pearl) advised the committee that issuing refunds in that manner may raise constitutional issues under the state gifting clause. Pearl said other credits sometimes include carryover provisions that permit taxpayers to carry unused credits forward to future tax years rather than receive a refund. After brief discussion, Senator Wallin withdrew the motion to amend pending further legal research and consultation with legislative counsel.

No committee vote was recorded on House Bill 12‑44 during this hearing; the chair closed the hearing after taking testimony and no proponents, opponents or neutral witnesses appeared online or in addition to the bill sponsor. Committee members asked staff and the tax department to review legal constraints on refundability and the administrative implications before any further action.