M1CMD: Credit for Attaining Master’s Degree in Teacher’s Licensure Field (2025)

Minnesota · Minnesota DOR · Used for tax years 2025

Minnesota Schedule M1CMD calculates a nonrefundable credit of up to $2,500 for attaining a master’s degree in a teacher’s licensure field. It reports teaching license and degree program information, program expenses, scholarships, and employer reimbursements.

Who files this form

Use 2025 Schedule M1CMD to claim the Credit for Attaining Master’s Degree in Teacher’s Licensure Field. You may qualify for a nonrefundable credit of up to $2,500 if all of these are true:

  • You began a Master of Arts or Science degree program after June 30, 2017.
  • You completed the program in 2025.
  • Your program did not include pedagogy or a pedagogy component. Pedagogy means the art, occupation, or practice of teaching.
  • You held a Minnesota teaching license issued by the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) when you began and completed the program.
  • Your degree was in a core content area directly related to your licensure field.
  • You paid for tuition or required fees, books, or instructional materials for the program.

Core content areas are reading, English or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

Part-year residents and nonresidents may qualify based on their percentage of income taxable to Minnesota.

What you'll need

Have the following information ready:

  • Your name, Social Security number, and Minnesota PELSB licensure information, including function description, student grade level you teach, and file folder number.
  • Your college or university, degree program, and program start and completion dates.
  • Total tuition and required fees, books, and instructional materials paid for the program, including prior years.
  • Total scholarships and employer reimbursements received for the program, including prior years.
  • Schedule M1NR, line 30, if you are a part-year resident or nonresident.

Save transcripts and detailed payment records, such as student account statements. The Minnesota Department of Revenue may ask for these records if it has questions.

How to file

Include Schedule M1CMD with your Form M1.

  1. Complete your personal, licensure, and degree program information. Check the applicable boxes about your teaching license and the absence of a pedagogy component.
  2. Enter qualifying program expenses on line 1, scholarships on line 2, and employer reimbursements on line 3. Include amounts from prior years.
  3. Add lines 2 and 3 on line 4. Subtract line 4 from line 1 and enter the result on line 5. If the result is zero or less, stop. You do not qualify.
  4. On line 6, enter the smaller of line 5 or $2,500.
  5. If you are a full-year resident, also enter line 6 on Schedule M1C, line 8.
  6. If you are a part-year resident or nonresident, enter the percentage from Schedule M1NR, line 30, on line 7. Multiply line 6 by line 7, then enter the result on line 8 and on Schedule M1C, line 8.

Round amounts to the nearest whole dollar.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving out prior-year amounts: Include prior-year program expenses, scholarships, and employer reimbursements on the appropriate lines.
  • Not reporting scholarships or reimbursements: You may include expenses covered by these payments, but you must also report the payments on lines 2 and 3.
  • Continuing when line 5 is zero or less: The schedule tells you to stop because you do not qualify.
  • Claiming a program with a pedagogy component: Such programs are not eligible. The text says programs in education, special education, literacy education, educational studies, and curriculum and instruction generally do not meet the core content definition and inherently contain a pedagogy component.
  • Not rounding amounts: Round to the nearest whole dollar.
  • Forgetting the attachment: Include Schedule M1CMD with Form M1.

Questions people ask

How much is the credit?

The credit is nonrefundable and is limited to $2,500 for each degree. Line 6 uses the smaller of $2,500 or your qualifying expenses after subtracting scholarships and employer reimbursements. Part-year residents and nonresidents apply the percentage from Schedule M1NR, line 30.

Can I claim the credit more than once?

You may claim it only once for each master’s degree program completed in a core content area.

Did I need a teaching license throughout the application process?

The stated requirement is that you held a Minnesota teaching license issued by PELSB when you began and when you completed the master’s degree program.

Do I need proof of my expenses?

Yes. Save transcripts and detailed payment records for tuition and required fees, books, and instructional materials. These records may be requested if there are questions.

Where can I get help?

Visit www.revenue.state.mn.us, email individual.incometax@state.mn.us, or call 651-296-3781 or 1-800-652-9094.

Official sources

All versions of M1CMD