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New Federal Tax Credit Could Expand Access to Catholic Schools

12:39 AM ETConfirmedShare via:          

Faith Desk

In Short: Education leaders say the new federal tax credit could expand access to Catholic schools, potentially easing financial burdens on families.

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Colorado Springs Colorado.

The credit allows individuals to claim a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 per year for donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) that provide K-12 scholarships.

Sister Dale McDonald, vice president of public policy for the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), expressed hope that the tax credit would increase enrollment in Catholic schools. 'Certainly, we’re hopeful that it will have an impact on enrollment,' she told OSV News.

The tax credit is designed to benefit families with low incomes, with eligibility extended to students whose prior-year household income is no more than 300% of the area’s median gross income, adjusted for family size. The Treasury Department estimates that approximately 95% of American children live in households that meet this income limit.

According to the Department of Education, SGOs must provide funds to at least 10 students who do not all attend the same school. The recipient organizations must be qualifying public charities that award K-12 scholarships to students in their respective states and must spend 90% of their income on scholarships.

Bishop David M. Cheeseman, NCEA president and CEO, highlighted the confirmation that married couples filing jointly will be able to claim up to $3,400 in tax credit for eligible contributions, rather than the previously understood $1,700 household limit. 'That increases the potential funding available to support educational opportunities for America’s children,' he said.

Greg Richmond, superintendent of the 154-school Archdiocese of Chicago school system, noted that the middle class is getting squeezed because of inflation, making fewer families able to afford Catholic school tuition. 'The tax credit could help ease financial burdens on families,' he said.

The Archdiocese of Miami is applying to participate in the EFTC through its newly established Catholic Tax Credit Scholarship Fund of South Florida. 'With great joy and a spirit of hope, our diocese now sets its course toward World Youth Day 2027, preparing to offer our young people the opportunity to take part in one of the most vibrant and transformative experiences in the life of the church,' said Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez.

The tax credit is expected to create opportunities for families to access much-needed resources to expand their options for choosing the best learning environment for their children. 'The transformative tax credit will create opportunities for families to access much-needed resources to expand their options for choosing the best tools and learning environment for their children,' said Bishop David M. Cheeseman.

The tax credit could lead to increased contributions to Catholic nonprofits that grant scholarships for K-12 students, potentially expanding access to Catholic schools for more families.

The NCEA recorded that 6.6% of Catholic school students received Title I services during the 2025-2026 academic year, indicating that the tax credit could have a significant impact on scholarship availability for low-income students.

The tax credit is part of a broader effort to increase state participation in an unprecedented federal program that could provide millions of children across the country with school choice assistance, including scholarships to attend Catholic schools.

The tax credit is expected to have a transformative impact on Catholic education, potentially easing financial burdens on families and expanding access to Catholic schools.

Background

What's confirmed

• The credit allows individuals to claim a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 per year for donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) that provide K-12 scholarships.
• Sister Dale McDonald, vice president of public policy for the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), expressed hope that the tax credit would increase enrollment in Catholic schools. 'Certainly, we’re hopeful that it will have an impact on enrollment,' she told OSV News.
• The tax credit is designed to benefit families with low incomes, with eligibility extended to students whose prior-year household income is no more than 300% of the area’s median gross income, adjusted for family size. The Treasury Department estimates that approximately 95% of American children live in households that meet this income limit.
• According to the Department of Education, SGOs must provide funds to at least 10 students who do not all attend the same school. The recipient organizations must be qualifying public charities that award K-12 scholarships to students in their respective states and must spend 90% of their income on scholarships.
• Bishop David M. Cheeseman, NCEA president and CEO, highlighted the confirmation that married couples filing jointly will be able to claim up to $3,400 in tax credit for eligible contributions, rather than the previously understood $1,700 household limit. 'That increases the potential funding available to support educational opportunities for America’s children,' he said.
• Greg Richmond, superintendent of the 154-school Archdiocese of Chicago school system, noted that the middle class is getting squeezed because of inflation, making fewer families able to afford Catholic school tuition. 'The tax credit could help ease financial burdens on families,' he said.
• The Archdiocese of Miami is applying to participate in the EFTC through its newly established Catholic Tax Credit Scholarship Fund of South Florida. 'With great joy and a spirit of hope, our diocese now sets its course toward World Youth Day 2027, preparing to offer our young people the opportunity to take part in one of the most vibrant and transformative experiences in the life of the church,' said Bishop Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez.
• The tax credit is expected to create opportunities for families to access much-needed resources to expand their options for choosing the best learning environment for their children. 'The transformative tax credit will create opportunities for families to access much-needed resources to expand their options for choosing the best tools and learning environment for their children,' said Bishop David M. Cheeseman.
• The tax credit could lead to increased contributions to Catholic nonprofits that grant scholarships for K-12 students, potentially expanding access to Catholic schools for more families.
• The NCEA recorded that 6.6% of Catholic school students received Title I services during the 2025-2026 academic year, indicating that the tax credit could have a significant impact on scholarship availability for low-income students.
• The tax credit is part of a broader effort to increase state participation in an unprecedented federal program that could provide millions of children across the country with school choice assistance, including scholarships to attend Catholic schools.
• The tax credit is expected to have a transformative impact on Catholic education, potentially easing financial burdens on families and expanding access to Catholic schools.

What's still developing

• PALM BEACH GARDENS | Every three to four years, Catholic young people from around the world gather to encounter Jesus, their pope and each other in a spirit of love, peace, education and mutual respect.
• Louis Bicentennial Jubilee Year Catholic Education Evangelization Pro-life More Catholic St.
• “Beneath the armor that so many teenagers build around themselves to avoid suffering lies the desire to love and be loved,” he said to participants in the International Congress for Pastoral Care in Schools and Universities, organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and taking place at the Vatican from October 22 to 23.
• Starting with the 2026-2027 academic year, “students who complete the NCBC’s National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics can transfer six credits toward CUA’s master’s degree in moral theology/ethics,” according to an Aug. 24 press release from the bioethics center.
• Vincent DePaul Society Catholic Foundation of Southern Nebraska Charity and Stewardship Appeal Vocations Bishop’s Appeal for Vocations What is a Vocation?
• A top Australian Catholic bishop has acknowledged the eight-year delay in bringing a fellow bishop to justice on charges he sexually abused young Indigenous men.
• Long championed by Catholic leaders as a concrete way to apply Church teaching that parents have a right to provide an education for their children that corresponds with their convictions, school choice has made significant gains since the first program was launched in Wisconsin in 1990.
• Her path began through Queen of Peace Church and School, Cardinal Dougherty and Lansdale Catholic high schools, and deepened through college and a career in Catholic education and service ultimately leading her to Immaculata University before entering the IHMs.
• After graduating from Marywood University in Scranton, Bielat joined a Capuchin volunteer mission in New York, taught in Archdiocese of Philadelphia schools, served as a campus minister and teacher at Nazareth Academy, and studied at Chicago’s Catholic Theological Union, the same school that taught Villanova graduate Pope Leo XIV.
• The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has published a document outlining the work of the Catholic Church in Wales as well as its main policy requests.
• Their combined 142 parishes serve a Catholic population of around 265,000 – making Catholicism one of the largest faiths in Wales.
• In “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” Leo reflects on the role of a Catholic education 60 years after the Oct.

Sources

• Diocese of Sioux Falls, SDlink
• Ewtnvaticanlink
• Future-Edlink
• OSV Newslink
• Vaticannewslink
• Ewtnnewslink
• Thefloridacatholiclink
• Kdhnewslink
• Stlouisreviewlink
• Newwaysministrylink
• Lincolndioceselink
• OSV Newslink
• Miamiarchlink
• Ncregisterlink
• WarpBeat — background on New Federal Tax Credit Could Expand Catholic School Access link
• WarpBeat — background on New Tax Credit Could Expand Access to Catholic Schools link