Scholarship Fund

Arizona Tax Credit

Your support qualifies for a dollar-for-dollar credit against your Arizona state taxes and is at no cost to you if :

• you pay Arizona taxes
• you provide your support before 15 April each year for the prior year (note – if you wish also to claim a federal deduction, you must provide the support by 31 December)
• you provide your support via a “School Tuition Organisation” (see below)

Individuals may claim a credit of up to $1135; married couples of up to $2269. You may recommend that your support go to :

• a general scholarship fund administered by the School Tuition Organisation
• a specific school‘s general scholarship fund (such as IST – our preferred recommendation)
• a specific student‘s scholarship

The Scholarship tax credit is additional to any other credits, including the credit available for supporting public school extra-curricular clubs.

If you provide your support 1 January – 14 April of each year, you can claim a credit on the previous year’s Arizona state taxes!! However, it would be too late for the previous year’s federal deduction.

How to Provide Support

There are three ways of providing Scholarship support which qualify for an Arizona tax credit :

Lump Sum – At any time during the year, you may provide your support as a lump sum. When you file your state tax return, your support will count against your liability even if you have already pre-paid your taxes such as through payroll deductions. If you do not owe any more, (for example, because you have paid your taxes in full through payroll deductions), you will then receive a refund.

• Please click here to provide your Scholarship support online. Any amount is helpful. Remember to recommend IST.

Regular (or monthly) Scholarship support -You may provide support manually, by automatic debits to your credit card or by automatic ACH withdrawals from your cheque account.

Payroll Withholding – Instead of waiting until December to provide qualifying Scholarship support, Arizona taxpayers may do so right out of their pay-cheques. Simply reduce your Arizona withholding and provide your support through your payroll processing of that amount. Contact your payroll provider.

Qualifying for an Arizona Tax Credit

Support must be given via a “School Tuition Organisation”, a 501-c-3 public charity, which receives the funds and issues you with the necessary receipts and forms to receive the Arizona tax credit. (You can also use these receipts to claim a federal deduction). The “School Tuition Organisation” then awards the Scholarships and ensures that state laws are followed.

IST principally works with Tucson’s Institute for Better Education, although we also work with several other “School Tuition Organisations” such as the Arizona Tuition connection.

Please check if your employer will match your support, thus doubling it!  If you work for certain corportations such as Raytheon, Chase or Bank of America; among others;  check with your HR department please contact IBE for information on how to claim the match and help a Tucson student attend IST.

Resources

• Please click here for answers to some Frequently Asked Questions