FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Date: January 11, 2016
From: Kate Saylor, Director of Marketing & Communications, Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc.
Subject: Georgia Taxpayers Significantly Exceed Cap on Education Tax Credits
Georgia Taxpayers Significantly Exceed Cap on Education Tax Credits
Department of Revenue Received $108.7 Million in Applications on January 4th
At 2:15pm today, the Georgia Department of Revenue announced that, on January 4, 2016, taxpayers submitted applications for $108.7 million of state income tax credits for their planned contributions to K-12 student scholarship organizations, exceeding the $58 million cap on tax credits available in 2016 by $50.7 million. This is a statewide increase of 19% over the prior year. In 2015, the cap on education expense tax credits was exceeded by 33.5 million.
Because the annual $58 million cap on education expense tax credits was met – and exceeded – in one day, the Department of Revenue ("DOR") will prorate this amount among all those individuals and businesses who submitted applications on that day for their share of the tax credits. Under the DOR's formula, taxpayers will only be able to contribute 53.36% of the amount they desired to contribute in exchange for a tax credit.
For example, married taxpayers who applied for the maximum $2,500 of tax credits to which they are entitled under Georgia law will only be able to contribute up to $1,334 for an offsetting tax credit. Individual owners of pass-through entities, such as law firms or medical practices, who wanted to contribute the maximum-allowed $10,000 to help low- and middle-income families will only be able to contribute $5,336 in exchange for a tax credit.
Families depending upon education expense credit scholarships to send their children to private schools around the state will face an especially challenging year since only about 53% of the expected scholarship funds will be forthcoming. Most notably, the number of students seeking tax credit tuition scholarships is on the rise; however, since 2013, the annual tax credit funds available to provide those opportunities have remained fixed.
Lisa Kelly, President of the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Georgia's largest student scholarship organization, made two key observations about the level of this year's tax credit applications: "The amount in applications received by DOR on that first day not only signifies the continuing and intense popularity of this this tax credit in Georgia, it also demonstrates that thousands of Georgia taxpayers have become steadfast school choice advocates."
The DOR is still in the process of mailing out Approval Letters for applications received; and Denial Letters for applications received after the cap was reached. More information can be found at the following link: https://dor.georgia.gov/documents/2016-qualified-education-expense-tax-credit.
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Media Contact: Kate Saylor at ksaylor@goalscholarship.org or 770-828-4032
Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc. | 3740 Davinci Court, Suite 375 | Peachtree Corners, GA 30092