Georgia

Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit

  • Tax-Credit Scholarship
  • Enacted 2008
  • Launched 2008

Georgia offers tax credits to corporate and individual donors supporting student scholarship organizations (SSOs), nonprofits that provide private school scholarships to students in need. Learn more about the program’s details on this page, including eligibility, funding, regulations, legal history, and more. 

We do not administer this program.

Eligibility Test Apply State Groups

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  • 19,516

    Scholarships Awarded (2022)

  • 89%

    of Students Eligible Statewide

  • 20

    Scholarship Organizations Awarding Scholarships (2022)

  • $4,356

    Average Scholarship Value (2022)

  • 36%

    Value as a Percentage of Public School Per-student Spending

Georgia’s Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit Participation

Students Participating
Calendar Year
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Student Funding

Scholarship amounts are determined by SSOs, capped only by the average state and local expenditures per child for public elementary and secondary education in the entire state. For 2023, scholarships were capped at $12,140.  

(Last updated December 18, 2023) 

Student Eligibility

All Georgia public school students are eligible if they attended a public school for at least six weeks immediately prior to receiving a scholarship, as are students who are enrolling in prekindergarten, kindergarten, or first grade. This prior-public requirement is waived for students who would be assigned to a low-performing school if they attended a public school. Eligibility continues until a student graduates from high school, reaches age 20, or returns to public school. SSOs may set their own additional eligibility guidelines.  

(Last updated December 18, 2023) 

EdChoice Expert Feedback

Georgia’s tax-credit scholarship program helps nearly 20,000 students access schools that are the right fit for them, but policymakers could do more to expand educational opportunity. 

All students are eligible to receive a tax-credit scholarship, making this among the most expansive educational choice programs in the nation. Statewide, 1 percent of students participate in one of Georgia’s private educational choice options (including the Special Needs Scholarship Program). 

The average scholarship size is about $4,400, which is about 36 percent of the average expenditure per student at Georgia’s district schools, but the cap on scholarship values is somewhat higher ($12,140 in 2023). Tax credits are worth 100 percent of the value of the contributions to scholarship organizations, but only $120 million in tax credits are available annually, which is equivalent to only 0.47 percent of Georgia’s total K–12 revenue.  

To expand access to educational choice, Georgia policymakers should dramatically increase the amount of available tax credits so that every Georgia child is able to receive a scholarship. The program could also be converted into an education savings account to ensure that all students have access to the education that’s the right fit for them, whether private school or a customized course of education. 

Georgia’s voucher program generally avoids unnecessary and counterproductive regulations. 

(Last updated December 18, 2023) 

Rules and Regulations

  • Income Limit: None
  • Prior Year Public School Requirement: Yes, with exceptions
  • Geographic Limit: Statewide
  • Enrollment Cap: None
  • Scholarship Cap: $12,140 (2023)
  • Testing Mandates: None
  • Credit Value: 100 percent
  • Per Donor Credit Cap: $1,000 for individuals, $2,500 for married couples ($1,250 for married filing separately), 75 percent of state liability for businesses
  • Total Tax Credit Cap: $120 million

SSO Requirements:

  • Use at least 92 percent of contributions for scholarships (up to first $1.5 million received), 94 percent in excess of $1.5 million, 95 percent in excess of $10 million, 96 percent in excess of $20 million
  • Make scholarships available for more than one school
  • Have an independent board of directors
  • Ensure donors cannot designate their donation to any particular student
  • Not also function as or be affiliated with an accrediting agency
  • Solely responsible for qualifying student eligibility
  • Submit annually to the state:
    • Data on accepted contributions and tax credits approved
    • Independent review of financial statements by a certified public accountant, including a signed
      declaration of compliance with all state and federal legal and regulatory requirements
    • Total number of students and total dollar value of scholarships awarded each year
    • Average scholarship amount by Federal Poverty Level brackets
    • Copy of most recent Form 990
  • Publicly disclose annually:
    • Total number of scholarships approved
    • Total number and amount of donations received
    • Average household income of scholarship recipients

(Last updated December 18, 2023)