April may be the cruelest month in T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land — but Washingtonians have something to look forward to that Eliot didn’t: a $1,700 federal tax credit.
The $1,700 You Could Keep
Washington taxpayers who donate to a qualifying nonprofit scholarship-granting organization (SGO) can receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit worth up to $1,700. Not a deduction. A credit. That’s $1,700 redirected from the IRS to Washington students. SGOs pool these donations and distribute scholarships to eligible K-12 students from families earning up to 300% of area median income — a threshold that covers around 90 percent of working Washington families. Scholarships can be used for a variety of K-12 education expenses, including:
- Tutoring
- Special education services
- Transportation
- Technology
- Tuition
- After-school programs
- School supplies
Both public and private schools can benefit, and local districts, community groups, and philanthropic organizations can create their own SGOs — partnering directly with education providers to get students the academic and enrichment services they need.
This isn’t new spending . It’s federal money already collected and redirected to Washington students at zero cost to the state or schools’ budgets — and it doesn’t require imposing a state income tax.
The Catch: We Have to Opt In — by January 1, 2027
Only one thing stands between Washington students and more than $700 million annually in tax-credit scholarship donations they can take to their schools: Governor Bob Ferguson’s signature.
Starting next year, every federal taxpayer can claim the $1,700 credit, but if the governor doesn’t opt Washington into the program by January 1, 2027, we’ll have to direct our donations to SGOs in states that have opted in—and that’s already a long and growing list.
Last summer, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) became the first to publicly announce his intent to opt his state into the program once additional guidance is issued. “I see opportunities for the federal scholarship donation tax credit program to benefit North Carolina’s public school kids,” the governor explained. “I intend to opt North Carolina in so we can invest in the public school students most in need of after school programs, tutoring, and other resources.” Since then, another 29 states have formally indicated that they plan to participate as well.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Additional states will likely opt-in soon, especially given the strong support for the federal tax-credit scholarship program among voters spanning the socio-political spectrum. Polling from Democrats for Education Reform in collaboration with Emerson College Polling found that a decisive majority of voters support their states’ governors opting in, including 64% of voters overall, 61% of Democrats, 68% of Hispanics, and 63% of Blacks. Subsequent polling among Washington state voters found support for Gov. Ferguson opting in is much stronger.
Washingtonians Want This Program
Opting into the federal tax-credit scholarship program isn’t a partisan issue. Fully, 72% of Washington voters support Gov. Ferguson opting the state into the program, with only 14% opposed. Even more striking: 74% of Washington’s Democratic voters support opting in, along with 65% of Black voters and 81% of Hispanic voters.
As President Obama’s Education Secretary Arne Duncan put it, opting into the federal tax-credit scholarship program is “a no-brainer.” Dozens of Washington state legislators agree, signing both a joint memorial and a letter urging the Gov. Ferguson to act.
The Irony Hiding in Plain Sight
Washington families are currently being asked to absorb a new state income tax — passed in March and sold as urgently needed to fund education. But as we detailed last month, the same legislative majority that passed the income tax turned around and cut more than $1 billion from K-12 schools and child care programs — because the new tax revenue won’t arrive until 2028 at the earliest.
The result: Washington families face a new state tax that won’t help their children or schools for years, while $700 million in federal education dollars flows to other states.
What a Win-Win Actually Looks Like
The federal tax-credit scholarship program is one of those rare policy opportunities where the interests of taxpayers, students, and schools genuinely align.
For Washington taxpayers: a dollar-for-dollar federal credit worth up to $1,700. For Washington students: scholarships for qualified K-12 expenses, available to low- and middle-income families. For Washington schools: direct access to additional dollars, with no state bureaucracy involved. Public school districts can create their own SGOs and direct scholarship funding to their own students. And for the state budget: no cost whatsoever.
The only thing standing between Washington families and these benefits is a signature — and a deadline of January 1, 2027. If you’d like Gov. Ferguson to opt Washington into the federal tax-credit scholarship program and keep $700+ million in education funding here at home, visit WPC’s Take Action page.
This Tax Day, there’s actually something worth celebrating — if we act in time to claim it.
