The U.S. Department of the Treasury previewed forthcoming Treasury and IRS guidance for the implementation of the new federal scholarship tax credit enacted as part of the Working Families Tax Cuts.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking a transformative step toward an education system that fits the student rather than the other way around,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “At Treasury, we take seriously the work of implementing this federal tax credit faithfully and effectively. We are committed to providing certainty to states, scholarship-granting organizations, taxpayers, and families alike, as well as making certain that this process is easy to navigate.”
The forthcoming guidance is expected to provide states, scholarship-granting organizations, taxpayers, and other stakeholders with a clear path to prepare for the launch of the Education Freedom Tax Credit in January 2027. Treasury expects to issue proposed regulations by the end of September. States, scholarship-granting organizations, and taxpayers are expected to be able to rely on those proposed regulations for tax year 2027.
Treasury previewed the guidance during a roundtable with scholarship-granting organizations, education stakeholders, technology providers, state representatives, and other partners to discuss implementation of the new credit. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Kevin Salinger outlined several key issues in the forthcoming guidance and his remarks are available here .
Background
The new scholarship tax credit under section 25F is intended to expand educational opportunity by encouraging private contributions to scholarship-granting organizations. Participating States may opt in to the program and provide to the IRS a list of eligible scholarship-granting organizations located in their state. Scholarship-granting organizations that are included on one or more state SGO lists can receive qualified contributions from taxpayers and use those funds to provide scholarships for eligible students. Taxpayers who make qualified contributions may claim a federal tax credit, subject to applicable statutory requirements and forthcoming Treasury and IRS guidance.
The credit is designed to support scholarships for K-12 education expenses, helping families access educational options that meet their children’s needs. Treasury and the IRS are developing proposed regulations to provide States, scholarship-granting organizations, taxpayers, and other stakeholders with clear rules for implementation, compliance, reporting, and program integrity ahead of the credit’s expected 2027 launch.
The Education Freedom Tax Credit Fact Sheet is available here .