Arizona School Tax Credits - 2017

Arizona Tax Credits related to Schools

Arizona has 5 common tax credits, of which 2 are related to schools.  These 2 credits are:
  • Contributions Made or Fees Paid to Public Schools
  • Contributions to School Tuition Organizations

This post is intended to provide more information about these specific tax credits.


Public School Credit

The Public School Tax Credit is available up to $200 for Single taxpayers, $400 for Married taxpayers.  This credit can be done during the tax year or up until April 15th of the following year in which it will be claimed (so this credit can be made up to April 15th of 2018 and still claimed as an AZ credit on the 2017 tax return).

Individual taxpayers subject to Arizona tax, can claim this credit on their Arizona income tax return for donations or fees paid directly to Arizona schools (public or charter) that are for extracurricular activities, character education programs, standardized testing fees for college credit or readiness, preparation courses and materials for standardized testing (i.e. for SAT or ACT tests), career and technical education industry certification assessment or CPR training pursuant to ARS 15-718.01.

Extracurricular activities are school sponsored activities that may require a fee from enrolled students.  These may include activities such as sports or band participation fees.  Field trips that require a fee paid to the school, like a 5th or 6th grade trips.

If the fees are paid for a specific student, then those amounts will most likely not qualify as Federal charity donation deduction but still would qualify for the AZ tax credit.

Private School Tuition Organization Credit

The Private School Tuition Organization Credit is available up to $1,089 for Single taxpayers, $2,177 for Married taxpayers.  This credit can also be made either during the tax year or until April 15th of the following year and count for the prior year (donations made by April 15th, 2018 can be claimed as 2017 AZ tax credits).

This credit is made to Organizations that provide scholarships for student attending private schools, K-12th grade.  The Department of Revenue provides a list of eligible School Tuition Organizations that can receive these contributions.  That list is located here: List of School Tuition Organizations Certified to Receive Donations for the Individual Income Tax Credit These organizations are required to provide 90% or more towards scholarships for students.

The state prohibits donors from trading credits (I will pay for your kid, if you pay for mine), so avoid promising to do the credit in exchange for someone else to make the credit donation on your child's behalf.

These organizations are 501(c)3 charitable organizations, so your donation may qualify as a Federal charity donation in addition to the AZ tax credit.


Additional Information:

The state of Arizona has a Publication that provides additional information for the School Tax Credits, in more detail than has been provided in this blog post.  That Publication can be found here.

Thanks for visiting the blog.  If you have any questions, please feel free to post a comment.

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