Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act (68 Okla. Stat. §2357.206) (“Scholarship Act”) allows individuals and businesses to receive Oklahoma state income tax credits for contributing to a scholarship granting organization (“SGO”) recognized by the Oklahoma Tax Commission. The SGO then uses those contributions to provide scholarships for eligible students to attend a private school.

GO for Catholic Schools, Inc. (“GO”) manages the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund that awards scholarships so students with financial need can attend a Catholic school. GO for Catholic Schools is an independent 501(c)(3) organization established to benefit Catholic schools in the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma. 

GO was founded to make a high-quality, Catholic school education more accessible to all students and families while strengthening and preparing our Catholic schools to survive, thrive and serve for the long-term. While GO exists to serve all our Catholic, students, families, teachers, schools and communities, we have a special focus on serving students and families with the greatest level of financial need for whom a Catholic education might otherwise seem an impossible choice. We prioritize service of students and families with the greatest financial need primarily, so that we are better able to serve all other stakeholders. GO believes that we serve ourselves best when we focus on serving others. This is a theme you will see repeated in our model and we hope you see demonstrated in our actions.

The tax identification number associated with the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund is 83-2415970. As an affiliate of GO for Great Schools Inc., contributions to the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund are eligible for Oklahoma state income tax credits. GO for Great Schools, Inc. is a recognized SGO under the Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act. GO for Catholic, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization that manages the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund.

Tax credits directly reduce the taxes you pay on a dollar-for-dollar basis. An Oklahoma state income tax credit is like a gift card from the State of Oklahoma that you can use to pay your state income taxes. For example, with a $1,000 tax credit from the State of Oklahoma, you can pay $1,000 in state income taxes. Individuals and legal business entities (corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships) can contribute to the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund and receive a state income tax credit from Oklahoma. Individuals can receive up to a $1,000 tax credit annually, married couples can receive up to a $2,000 tax credit annually, and legal business entities can receive up to a $100,000 tax credit annually.

Both tax credits and tax deductions help to minimize the overall taxes you pay. Tax deductions reduce the base of taxable income upon which you pay taxes, which translates into a reduction on the amount of taxes that you pay; however, the value of tax deductions depends upon a number of factors specific to each taxpayer. Tax credits are much more valuable because they directly reduce taxes dollar-for-dollar.

The tax credit earned from contributing through GO is equal to a percentage of the amount you contribute, depending on whether you contribute for a single year or commit to contributing the same amount for two consecutive years. If you are willing to commit in writing to contribute the same amount for two consecutive years (e.g. 2024 and 2025), then the law grants you a tax credit of 75% of the amount contributed each year. If you only want to make a single year contribution, the tax credit is only 50% of the amount contributed

With the passage of Oklahoma Senate Bill 1080, there is now a total of $50 million in annual state income tax credits available for contributors—$25 Million specifically for contributions through SGOs benefiting private schools and $25 Million specifically for contributions through EIGOs benefiting public schools. The Annual Tax Credit Cap automatically replenishes each year. All SGOs are required to file a report with The Oklahoma Tax Commission in January of each year detailing contributions received during the prior calendar year. The Tax Commission calculates the total amount contributed to all SGOs for the just completed tax year and the total amount of tax credits earned by such contributions and publishes a report on its website by February 15 of each year. If total tax credits earned from contributions to all SGOs in the State for that year exceed the available tax credits for the year, then a portion of the tax credit earned by each contributor to an SGO will be deferred or “suspended” by the Tax Commission on a pro-rata basis so as not to exceed the effective Annual Tax Credit Cap.

NOTE: No tax credits are lost as a result of such deferral, rather the timing of the use of the tax credits by the taxpayer may be delayed. If the Annual Tax Credit Cap was exceeded in one year, the Annual Tax Credit Cap for the following year will effectively be reduced by the amount of the suspended credits (the “Effective Annual Tax Credit Cap”).

Tax credits received from contributing through GO may be used in the immediately following year (to the extent that the Annual Tax Credit Cap is not exceeded). For example, tax credits earned by contributing through GO in 2023 may be used to offset income taxes on your 2023 Oklahoma tax return filed in 2024. In addition, any tax credit not used in a given tax year may be carried over for up to three years. The tax credit is not refundable. You must use it as an offset to Oklahoma income taxes.

No. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, GO cannot accept contributions designated for particular individuals.

Tier 1 students come from families with combined household income and family size below 185% of the Federal Poverty Limits. For example, a family of four with annual household income of less than $57,720 would be in Tier 1. 

GO Tiers of Need (by household income and size):

• Tier 1 = 185% of Federal Poverty Limit
• Tier 2 = 2 x Tier 1
• Tier 3 = 3 x Tier 1

Amounts designated to each GO School Designated Fund will benefit eligible students at that School across all three Tiers of financial need; however, because GO scholarships are need-based, Tier 1 students receive larger individual scholarship amounts than Tier 2 students and Tier 2 students receive larger individual scholarship amounts than Tier 3 students. Approximately 60% of GO’s annual contributions flow to benefit students in Tier 1 with the remaining 40% funding scholarships for students in Tier 2 and Tier 3.

The Scholarship Act requires that each SGO disburse at least 90% of the money it receives each calendar year in the form of scholarships for eligible students during the following academic year, with no more than 10% of contributions available to pay administrative costs. GO was developed in a manner to minimize administrative costs. In addition, since inception, a generous group of benefactors helps cover administrative costs associated with GO, so 100% of designated contributions will go directly toward helping families  defray student tuition in our Catholic schools.

Each student that applies for financial aid to attend one of our Catholic schools may elect to apply for a GO Scholarship by submitting the required information by the established deadlines through the GO FACTS Grant & Aid online application. Acceptance into the Catholic school is a prerequisite before a student will be considered for a GO scholarship. The only other criteria for receiving a scholarship from GO is the student’s demonstrated level of financial need for which GO will rely solely upon verified family household income and size of family as a proxy. All students that are eligible to receive GO Scholarships based on verified financial aid application data will be awarded a scholarship. Students with the highest level of financial need will receive larger scholarship awards.

Under the Scholarship Act, an eligible student may receive a scholarship worth up to 80% of the statewide annual average per-pupil expenditure as determined by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education. For the 2023-2024 school year, that maximum scholarship amount is approximately $6,591 for elementary students or $7,620 for high school students. The actual scholarship amount will depend upon a number of factors, including the level of engagement of our Schools and their success in raising funds each year which determines the amount of money available for scholarships, the number of eligible students seeking financial assistance, and the level of financial need of the students.

GO will work with our Catholic Schools to meet their scholarship needs throughout the year so that our schools can be full and serving as many students and families as possible. However, the vast majority of GO scholarship funds will be awarded near the beginning of each academic year. By coordinating with each of our Catholic Schools, GO will notify scholarship recipients of award amounts by September 1 of each calendar year. GO scholarship funds will be provided by check made payable to the parents or legal guardians of the scholarship recipient and will be delivered to the Catholic school where the student is enrolled. Recipients must endorse GO scholarship award checks over to the school for such funds to apply towards their tuition for the current school year.

Contributions to the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund are held either in a checking account at the Bank of Oklahoma or in a reserve account at the Tulsa Community Foundation where funds can be conservatively invested to generate a return while waiting to be deployed to fund scholarships at our schools. All contributions to the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund are deposited into the Bank of Oklahoma checking account and all scholarship payments are made from that same account.

Contributions to the GO for Catholic Schools Tax Credit Scholarship Fund received by December 31 will count as charitable contributions made during that calendar year for purposes of earning your state income tax credit from Oklahoma and your charitable tax deduction. The tax credit that you earn by contributing through GO in each calendar year may be used to offset your Oklahoma taxable income when you file your tax return for that year (subject to any deferral required as a result of exceeding the Annual Tax Credit Cap). The amount of tax credits earned only depends on the amount of your contribution through GO, the category of contributor you are (single, married, or business), and whether you are willing to make a 2-year written contribution commitment to earn the 75% tax credit versus a 50% tax credit for a single year contribution. The amount of the tax credit that you may claim by contributing through GO in 2024 will be determined by February 15, 2025 and may be claimed when you file your tax return for 2024. Federal and state tax deductions for your charitable contribution to GO in 2024 may also be claimed when filing your 2024 tax return.

You can review the statute itself, Oklahoma Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Act (68 Okla. Stat. §2357.206). The Oklahoma Tax Commission, which is responsible for carrying out the statute, is another good source of information.