What the credit is worth

• The credit equals the cash donated, up to $750 per taxpayer.
• On a joint return the limit is $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.
• The credit is nonrefundable: it can reduce Ohio income tax owed, but it is not paid out beyond that.
• Investors in a pass-through entity can claim their share of the entity's donations, but all investors together are limited to $750 a year for that entity.

When a gift counts

A gift counts for the tax year in which it is made, or for the year before if it is made on or before the original, unextended due date of that year's Ohio return. The same gift cannot be claimed in two years.

The federal credit counts gifts differently. See the FAQs before planning a gift early in 2027 for the 2026 Ohio return.

How the credit is claimed

The donor claims the credit on the Ohio income tax return, on the Schedule of Credits line for the Scholarship Donation Credit. The donor needs the SGO's receipt showing the contribution and its amount; if the Ohio Department of Taxation reviews the claim, the donor responds with that receipt. The Ohio Department of Taxation's FAQ on individual credits covers the details.

Finding a certified SGO

Only gifts to an SGO certified by the Ohio Attorney General qualify. The Attorney General publishes the list of certified scholarship granting organizations.

Certification lasts one year. Each row on the list shows the date the organization was certified and a valid through date one year later. The list groups organizations by the year they were certified, so an SGO that has renewed appears again under the newer year. Before giving, check that the organization's most recent valid through date has not passed. Some SGOs on the list are based outside Ohio.

An SGO cannot direct a donor's gift to the donor's own child. The Attorney General's office describes this as strictly prohibited by federal tax-exemption laws.

For schools and SGOs: getting certified

The Ohio Attorney General's Charitable Law Section certifies SGOs every year. To qualify under ORC 5747.73, an organization must be a 501(c)(3) that primarily awards academic scholarships for K-12 students and gives priority to low-income students; the Attorney General's rule (OAC 109:1-8-01) defines both terms. The organization must also comply with Ohio's charitable registration and reporting laws.

The organization applies online with its formation documents, bylaws, a notarized statement, documentation of its low-income priority and scholarship spending, and prior-year expense figures. The Attorney General considers applications at any time, but an application must be complete by November 30 for the organization to be, in the Attorney General's words, eligible for certification by January 1 of each year. Each certification runs one year, so an SGO renews annually. Start at the Attorney General's Scholarship Granting Organization Certification page.

The Ohio credit and the federal credit

From 2027, a gift to an SGO may also be eligible for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit, if the SGO is on Ohio's federal list. Federal law reduces the federal credit by a state credit for the same gift, and the rule for applying that reduction is still only proposed. See the federal credit in Ohio.