Georgia Goal

Beginning in 2008, there is a new Georgia Education Expense Credit that allows taxpayers to take a credit against their Georgia income taxes for amounts contributed to qualifying K-12 student scholarship organizations. In order to use this new program to increase the amount of financial aid Stratford Academy is able to offer families, we are working with the Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, a state-approved student scholarship organization.

Under the new law, individual taxpayers receive a tax credit against their Georgia income tax liability for amounts contributed to the GOAL Scholarship Program up to $1,000 ($2,500 in the case of a married couple filing a joint return). Thus, if a married couple owes $10,000 in Georgia taxes, they can contribute $2,500 to GOAL for scholarships at Stratford and pay the remaining $7,500 to the state treasury.

Corporations receive a tax credit for amounts contributed to the GOAL Scholarship Program up to 75% of their Georgia income tax liability. Presently, this tax credit is only fully available to "C" corporations. Unfortunately, shareholders of S corporations and members of LLCs and LLPs are subject to the individual tax credit limitations.

In addition, amounts contributed to GOAL are deductible for federal income tax purposes.

The GOAL Scholarship Program uses the contributions to fund K-12 scholarships for public school children who desire to attend private schools. The scholarships are also available for students who are eligible to enter kindergarten. Importantly, donors to GOAL can designate that their contributions be used in support of scholarships at Stratford Academy.

For your convenience, the Form IT-QEE-TP1, the form that taxpayers must complete and file with the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) to pre-qualify their contributions, is available below. This step is necessary because the DOR needs to make sure that all of the $50 million of annual Education Expense Credits that are available under the law have not been used.

After you have completed your pre-approval form, please deliver it to the Stratford Academy school office for mailing to the DOR. To ensure approval of your intended contribution in time to secure a 2009 Georgia income tax credit, the DOR must receive your Form IT-QEE-TP1 by November 1.

Once you receive your approval from the DOR, you can then write a check made payable to "Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program, Inc." and designate Stratford Academy in the memo section of the check. The check should be sent to the Stratford school office along with a copy of the approved Form IT-QEE-TP1 you receive from the DOR. We will then mail these items to GOAL along with the contributions and approved forms submitted by others.

To learn all of the details about the new law, the process for pre-qualifying and making your contributions, and the GOAL Scholarship Program, please visit the GOAL website at www.goalscholarship.org  or contact Kathleen Medlin in the Stratford Institutional Advancement Office at kathleen.medlin@stratford.org  or 478-477-8073 ext. 210.

Form IT-QEE-TP1 (updated form 7-14-09)

Frequently Asked Questions