How do the EITC/OSTC programs help?

(and can it help your child?)

November 7, 2024 | Sharon Sedlar

In Pennsylvania, 90,000 students this past year benefited from two tax-credit scholarship programs – the Educational Improvement Tax Credit and the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs.

The Educational Improvement Tax Credit program was enacted in 2001, and offers tax credits for corporate contributions to certain nonprofit organizations.  These organizations then use those donations to provide low and middle income families with educational scholarships.  The average scholarship benefit from this program is about $2,000.

The Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program was enacted in 2012, and also provides scholarships via the same vehicle, but this particular program is dedicated to those students who live in a school in the bottom 15% performance range.  While the student maximum benefit is $8,500, the average scholarship is about $2,000.

One additional program of note, under the EITC and OSTC framework, is assistance for students in “economically disadvantaged schools.”  Put simply, this program provides another layer of benefit to those students in low and middle income families.  The State Department of Community and Economic Development annually designates which schools qualify for the program.

How does a family access these programs for their child?  The process is very simple!