25 Years of Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC)

Harrisburg, Pa., May 14, 2026 — Pennsylvania’s Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) turns 25 this year. Since its creation in 2001, the highly successful program has awarded more than 1 million scholarships in all 67 counties, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Foundation. The report highlights how students across Pennsylvania benefit from tax-credit scholarship programs, including demographics of recipients, average scholarship cost, and the unmet need for scholarships. Pennsylvania’s EITC program was one of the first of its kind and has served as a model for educational choice in other states as well as inspiring the federal scholarship tax credit (FSTC). Key Findings 

• In the 2023–24 school year, 101,751 students across all 67 counties benefitted from tax-credit scholarships.
• Four out of ten Pennsylvania students attending private school receive tuition assistance through EITC and its partner program, the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC).
• Nearly 70,000 applicants did not receive a scholarship, due in part to arbitrary caps set by the state legislature.
• The average household income for EITC and OSTC scholarship recipients ranges between $56,249 and $78,081 annually, compared to Pennsylvania’s median family income of $100,557.

Rachel Langan, Sr. Education Policy Analyst and the report’s author, issued the following statement in response: “For a quarter of a century, EITC has helped hundreds of thousands of families access the education that serves their children best. “EITC scholarships put educational options within reach for low to middle income families. For many, it offered the only opportunity for students to escape their failing school. “Even now, 25 years later, the program’s popularity continues to grow. Despite doubling the amount of scholarships awarded over the last ten years, nearly 70,000 students remain stuck on waiting lists. “Pennsylvania is in desperate need of more education options. Thankfully, the commonwealth has no shortage of school choice proposals: from expanding the EITC and OSTC programs to Lifeline Scholarships to the Learning Investment Tax Credit and opting into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, Pennsylvania can help tens of thousands of kids and families. “The enduring popularity of the EITC program shows school choice works. Pennsylvania can lead the nation by prioritizing EITC and expanding educational opportunity for all Pennsylvania families by opting in to the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit.” Original Article