5 Steps to Making Your AZ Taxes Fund Education!
Forms and instructions for completing them are available from the Arizona Department of Revenue. Click on the links below for tax forms and instructions for completing them:
Form 301 Nonrefundable Individual Tax Credits and Recapture
Form 323 Credit for Contributions School Tuition Organization
Form 348 Credit for Contributions to Certified School Tuition Organization – Individuals
If you need further assistance regarding tax filing or completion of tax forms, please consult your tax preparer. The SHACS staff cannot assist with tax preparation.
Pro Tip: If you make your donation via Credit Card and immediately file your AZ taxes, if you earned a refund, it will probably arrive before the Credit Card bill is due!
Practical Examples of How Tax Credits Work
To better understand how tax credits work, CLICK HERE TO SEE SEVERAL DESCRIPTIVE FAMILY SCENARIOS.
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Common STOs SHACS regularly works with:
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How it Works, the long version:
Donors may contribute at any time throughout the tax year (though individual STOs may have restrictions). Donations may be made in full (see below chart) or may be made in smaller increments at the donor’s discretion, depending on the donor’s Arizona state tax liability. (Corporations may also donate, visit one of our Corporate STO partners for more information.)
Two scholarship programs may be contributed to by individual Arizona taxpayers: the Original Individual scholarship program and the PLUS/Switcher scholarship program.
Any child enrolled in private school, grades K-12 OR a disabled preschooler with an Arizona public school IEP or MET who is at least 3 years of age qualifies for the Original Individual program. To qualify for the PLUS program a child must meet at least one of these criteria:
- Entering kindergarten
- Received a Low-Income Corporate, “PLUS”/Switcher or Corporate Displaced/Disabled scholarship in a previous academic year and continued to attend a qualified private school
- Disabled preschooler enrolled in a qualified disabled preschool
- Dependent of active duty military stationed in Arizona on orders
- Transferring from:
- An Arizona public or charter school with at least 90 days of attendance in the previous academic year or one full semester in the same year; or
- Transferring from an Arizona homeschool program; or
- Transferring from the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program in the previous academic semester; or
- A public, private or homeschool program from out of state or out of country.
The amounts that may be contributed are listed below:
Original Individual |
PLUS/Switcher |
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2024 Single filers maximum donation: $731 2024 Married filing jointly maximum donation: $1,459 |
2024 Single filers maximum donation: $728 2024 Married filing jointly maximum donation: $1,451 |
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2025 Single filers maximum donation: $769 2025 Married filing joint maximum donation: $1,535 |
2025 Single filers maximum donation: $766 2025 Married filing joint maximum donation: $1,527 |
By law, you must donate the maximum to Original Individual for the tax year before you may donate to PLUS/Switcher.
After making your donation, either provide the receipt to your accountant or, if completing your own taxes, includes the donation given on AZ form 140 when filing Arizona state taxes. (You will also need to complete AZ form 323 for Original donations (and AZ form 348 for PLUS donations) and AZ form 301 (which totals all Arizona state tax credits).)
The donation given to an STO reduces the donor’s Arizona state tax liability by that amount, not to exceed the maximum amount allowed listed above or the filer's total state tax liability (whichever is less). The credit will either reduce the amount owed to the state or increase the refund.
Want to contribute but can’t afford to give it all at once? Many STOs have provisions for incremental monthly donations.