Florida
created a new State corporate income tax credit in 2001. It provides
Florida corporations with a 100% credit for contributing tax payments
due to the State to eligible non-profit Scholarship Funding
Organizations (SFOs).
The SFOs must in turn grant all of the funds so received to qualifying
low-income children in the form of scholarships. These “CTC
Scholarships” may be used at eligible private schools or for
transportation to out-of-county public schools.
The law defines a “qualified student” as one who:
- Qualifies
for free or reduced-price school lunches under the National School
Lunch Act and also
- Was
counted as a full-time-equivalent public school student during the
previous state fiscal year, or
- Received
a scholarship from an eligible nonprofit SFO during the previous school
year; or
- Is
eligible to enter kindergarten or first grade.
The
maximum CTC Scholarship to attend a private school is $3750, or the
cost of tuition plus books and transportation fees, whichever is less.
The maximum to attend a public school in another county is $500 for
transportation only, because the tuition and books are already paid
from tax funds.
The program is voluntary for private schools. Many, but not all,
private schools admit students with CTC scholarships. For the 2006-2007
school year, the Florida Department of Education reports that 19,416
students received CTC scholarships that were used at 948 private
schools.
There are three registered SFOs that between them issue scholarships to
children in all of Florida’s counties. Families apply to the SFOs and
must follow their application procedures.
The number of scholarships offered by the SFOs is limited by the
contributed funds they receive from corporations. The total of those
contributions is capped at $88 million per year. $59 million was
received for 2006-2007.
Click on Learn More below for links to additional information
on Corporate Tax Credit Scholarships.
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