Federal Scholarship Tax Credit
Key claim: The IRS is proposing rules for a nonrefundable federal tax credit that people can claim when they donate to state-certified groups that give scholarships for private elementary and secondary schools.
Abstract
(Proposed Rule · Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service) This document contains proposed regulations regarding the nonrefundable Federal tax credit for qualified contributions to scholarship granting organizations to fund qualified elementary and secondary school education scholarships. The proposed regulations would affect taxpayers who make such qualified contributions, States that elect to participate by certifying organizations as scholarship granting organizations, and the organizations that have been certified as scholarship granting organizations by one or more electing States. This document also provides notice of a public hearing on the proposed regulations.
[This finding represents 2 closely related documents issued 2026-10-02 (same source, same action). Related: fedreg:2026-20264]
Why this matters
A federal tax credit for donations to K-12 scholarship-granting organizations would be the first nationwide subsidy for private school choice delivered through the tax code, shifting the fiscal relationship between federal taxpayers, state-certified intermediaries, and private schools. The IRS rulemaking determines who qualifies as a scholarship organization, how states certify them, and what documentation donors need — all open questions until the rule is finalized.