A Democratic U.S. House candidate wrongfully claimed an education-related property tax credit for years, an error that saved her about $400 annually since 2024.
JoAnna Mendoza, a U.S. Navy and Marine Corps veteran and former political consultant running in Arizona's highly watched 6th Congressional District, acknowledged to The Arizona Republic that she did not submit the necessary paperwork after she began renting out her home in Tucson and moved to another property in Red Rock.
Because Mendoza categorized both of the properties as primary residences, officials in Pima and Pinal County applied the tax break two times over when calculating how much she owed.
Mendoza's campaign told The Republic it was an honest mistake. She reached out to Pima
County officials to reclassify the Tucson home as a rental property on Aug. 10, records show.
"JoAnna is already in touch with the county assessor to correct the filing mistake," Kyle McCarthy, a spokesperson for the campaign, said in a written statement. "She will pay whatever she owes, which is estimated to be a few hundred dollars."
Unlike most tax credits, the "State Aid to Education" write-off isn't something you proactively file, said Leigh Jensen Merino, a lobbyist who works on K-12 education issues in Arizona. Legally, the onus is on the homeowner to reach out to county officials when a property needs to be reclassified.
"It's calculated and automatically comes out of your property tax bill," Jensen Merino said.
The tax problem comes up at a time when Mendoza is under high scrutiny. As she faces incumbent Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in a multi-million-dollar campaign fight, her opponents have honed in on details of her personal life, highlighting pornographic and witchcraft-focused social media accounts she has followed online, her weekslong marriage to a man in Syria, and a personal history that includes a DUI arrest in 2012.
Mendoza, in turn, has leaned into her life story. She speaks openly about growing up poor in rural Arizona as the daughter of farm workers, abusing alcohol after she was sexually assaulted in the military, and being a single mom, betting it will appeal to voters at a time when working-class frustration is on the rise.
She has taken aim at Ciscomani's voting record — which includes backing the GOP-led tax break package that also included cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, clean energy subsidies, and other benefits that had flowed into his district — as polling suggests he and other vulnerable Republican incumbents face serious headwinds approaching November's midterm election.
Mendoza eligible for tax credit, but received it twice over
Like most Arizona homeowners, Mendoza is eligible to receive the state aid to education tax credit, which lets the state offset taxes levied by local school districts.
Homeowners can claim up to a $600 benefit from the tax break, depending on the value of their property.
Mendoza has claimed the education tax credit for her home in central Tucson since she bought the $330,000 property in 2021, records show.
In 2023, she bought a second home in Red Rock for around $337,000. She began renting out the Tucson property, online listings show.
By law, Arizona homeowners are only allowed to have one primary residence. But Mendoza categorized both properties that way when she bought them.
The error allowed her to continue collecting the tax break from the Tucson house even when she wasn't living there, saving $404.29 in 2024 and $415.87 in 2025. Property tax bills for 2026 aren't yet public.
Mendoza hasn't made a secret of the rental activity. She reported making $20,000 from rental income in a financial disclosure form filed when she ran for Congress.
The education tax break has haunted other Arizona political candidates on the campaign trail. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Arizona, took advantage of the same tax credit at a property in Flagstaff, attesting to county officials that he primarily lived outside his congressional district, The Republic reported in 2018.
Arizona's 6th Congressional District covers most of Pima County, including most of Tucson, and Cochise County.
The election is Nov. 3, 2026. Early voting begins Oct. 7.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona CD6 candidate wrongfully took home tax credit | Exclusive
