The Teachers & Substitutes Fix Kit
Built for teachers and substitutes.
Teachers lose money in places a paycheck never shows: classroom supplies bought with your own card and left off the return, a salary step or lane that never caught up with your credits, extra duty nobody paid, loan forgiveness missed by a form, Social Security changes you never followed up on, and for substitutes, a long-term rate never asked for and unemployment rules nobody explained. I wrote this kit so you can check each one against your own records and ask for it in writing.
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The 7 leaks it covers
2 you can close it · 4 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Classroom spending left off your tax returnWhere to look first: Gather every receipt for classroom supplies, books, software and professional development you paid for and were not reimbursed.Keep it from coming back: Photograph every classroom receipt the day you buy, and keep them in one folder by school year.A pro decides
- Salary step or lane never updated for your credits or degreeWhere to look first: Get your district's current salary schedule. Find the row for your years of service and the column for your education level or credits.Keep it from coming back: Send transcripts to HR the month you finish any course, and keep a copy of what you sent and when.The other side owes it
- Social Security change after the WEP and GPO repeal never checkedWhere to look first: This matters if you have, or will have, a pension from teaching work not covered by Social Security, or your spouse does.Keep it from coming back: Check your Social Security statement once a year, and after any law change that affects public pensions.The other side owes it
- Loan forgiveness missed, or the two programs counted wrongWhere to look first: Teacher Loan Forgiveness forgives up to $17,500 for certain highly qualified special education and secondary math or science teachers, and up to $5,000 for other eligible teachers, after five complete, consecutive years of full-time teaching at an eligible low-income school (VERIFIED: Federal Student Aid).Keep it from coming back: Certify PSLF employment every January, and before you change districts.You can close it
- Extra duty and lost planning periods never paidWhere to look first: Find the extra-duty or stipend schedule in your contract: coaching, clubs, after-school tutoring, bus duty, covering another class.Keep it from coming back: Log extra duty and coverage the same day, and match it to every pay stub.The other side owes it
- Substitute: long-term rate never asked forWhere to look first: Find your district's substitute pay schedule. Many pay a higher daily rate once you hold the same assignment for a set number of days.Keep it from coming back: Track consecutive days in every assignment and ask the day you reach the long-term mark.You can close it
- Substitute or school worker: unemployment between terms never checkedWhere to look first: Between terms, a school worker can be denied unemployment benefits if they have reasonable assurance of work in the next term (VERIFIED: U.S. DOL, UIPL 5-17).Keep it from coming back: Save every next-term offer in writing, and file a timely claim when you have no assurance of work.The other side owes it
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Classroom spending left off your tax return
A pro decides- Gather every receipt for classroom supplies, books, software and professional development you paid for and were not reimbursed.
- An eligible educator, a K-12 teacher, counselor, principal or aide working at least 900 hours in a school year, can deduct up to $300 of these costs, $600 if both spouses are eligible and file jointly, whether or not they itemize (VERIFIED: IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service).
- For 2026, the above-the-line amount rises to $350, and educators who itemize can deduct qualified unreimbursed costs beyond that with no cap (VERIFIED: Squire Patton Boggs, on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act).
- From 2026, interscholastic sports administrators and coaches are added to who counts as an educator (VERIFIED: Squire Patton Boggs).
- Bring the receipts and totals to your tax preparer.
Your part: Keep the receipts and hand them over.
Question to a tax preparer: Hi [NAME], I'm a [GRADE / ROLE] at [SCHOOL] and worked [HOURS] hours this school year. I spent [AMOUNT] of my own money on classroom costs that weren't reimbursed; receipts attached. Can you apply the educator expense deduction, and for 2026 tell me whether itemizing the amount over the above-the-line limit helps me? Thanks, [YOUR NAME]
Photograph every classroom receipt the day you buy, and keep them in one folder by school year.
What this kit can't decide for you: Which deduction you take and how much is your tax preparer's call. We never tell you what to file.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When teachers and substitutes go looking for answers, they search things like “teacher salary”, “substitute teacher pay”, “teacher pension” and “educator expense deduction”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Classroom spending left off your tax return: where do I start?
Start here: Gather every receipt for classroom supplies, books, software and professional development you paid for and were not reimbursed. To keep it from coming back: Photograph every classroom receipt the day you buy, and keep them in one folder by school year.
Salary step or lane never updated for your credits or degree: where do I start?
Start here: Get your district's current salary schedule. Find the row for your years of service and the column for your education level or credits. To keep it from coming back: Send transcripts to HR the month you finish any course, and keep a copy of what you sent and when.
Social Security change after the WEP and GPO repeal never checked: where do I start?
Start here: This matters if you have, or will have, a pension from teaching work not covered by Social Security, or your spouse does. To keep it from coming back: Check your Social Security statement once a year, and after any law change that affects public pensions.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
13-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-TEACHERS-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.