EdChoice

Where can I read about the EdChoice court case?

The EdChoice page carries a dated notice on the case, with links to the court's opinion and the Ohio Attorney General's statement.

Does family income matter for EdChoice?

For EdChoice (performance-based), no: there is no income test. For EdChoice Expansion, income does not decide eligibility, but it sets the amount. Families at or below 450% of the federal poverty guidelines receive the full amount, and the award gets smaller above that, down to a floor. Separately, a family at or below 200% can ask for low-income status, which limits what the school may charge.

Can my school charge more than the scholarship?

If ODEW has verified your family as low-income (at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines), a chartered nonpublic school may not charge tuition above the scholarship (ORC 3310.13(A)). Other families may be charged the difference, and the school may let them volunteer instead of paying it in cash. Fees outside tuition may still apply.

Can a family on EdChoice also get an SGO scholarship?

Yes. Ohio law lets a school accept SGO scholarships to cover the difference between the EdChoice award and tuition, and fees (ORC 3310.13(F)).

The Ohio SGO tax credit

Do both spouses need to give to get the joint amount?

Yes. On a joint return the credit can reach $1,500, but no more than $750 can come from each spouse's own donations. A couple reaches $1,500 only when each spouse gives at least $750 from their own funds.

Can my gift go to my own child?

No. The Ohio Attorney General's office says routing a donor's gift to the donor's own child is strictly prohibited by federal tax-exemption laws.

How do I find an SGO that serves my school or diocese?

Start with the Ohio Attorney General's list of certified scholarship granting organizations. Certification lasts one year, and each row shows a valid through date; check that the organization's most recent date has not passed.

What is the deadline to give for my 2026 Ohio taxes?

For the Ohio credit, a gift counts for 2026 if it is made during 2026 or on or before the original, unextended due date of your 2026 Ohio return. The same gift cannot be claimed in two years.

A gift made early in 2027 is a different matter for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, which counts a contribution in the calendar year it is made. Federal law reduces the federal credit by a state credit for qualified contributions (26 U.S.C. 25F(b)(2)). The rule on how that reduction applies to a single gift is only proposed (Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, REG-117199-25, Federal Register, October 2, 2026), and it may change before final regulations. Under the proposed rule, when a gift has a part designated as the federal qualified contribution and a part that is not, the Ohio credit is applied first to the part that is not designated, and any Ohio credit beyond that part still reduces the federal credit. Because the two credits count a gift made early in 2027 in different years, talk with a tax professional about how the reduction would apply to it. See the federal credit in Ohio.

The federal credit

Can I claim the federal credit now?

No. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit starts with 2027. Ohio has elected to take part for 2027, but that election is complete only if Ohio submits its SGO list to the IRS by February 15, 2027. When it starts, the credit is up to $1,700 per taxpayer per year.

Can the Ohio credit and the federal credit both apply to one gift?

The law reduces the federal credit by any state credit for the same contributions (26 U.S.C. 25F(b)(2)); that part is statutory. How the reduction applies to one gift is set out only in a proposed rule (Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, REG-117199-25, Federal Register, October 2, 2026). Under the proposed rule, when a gift has a part designated as the federal qualified contribution and a part that is not, the Ohio credit is applied first to the part that is not designated, and any Ohio credit beyond that part still reduces the federal credit. The rule is proposed, not final, and it may change before final regulations are issued.

The federal credit page has an illustration derived from the proposed rule's examples, with the conditions it depends on: the SGO must be both certified by the Ohio Attorney General and on Ohio's federal SGO list for 2027, and the part of the gift not designated as the federal contribution must cover the whole Ohio credit.