Your Tax Dollars, Your Choice - How to Transform your Personal State Taxes into a St. James Scholarship - 2023

Sep 19, 2026

Upload by James

Guide to converting personal Pennsylvania state tax payments into St. James School scholarships through a scholarship tax credit program. The content explains how donors join a special purpose entity (SPE), contribute funds, and receive a tax credit calculated from their gift. It outlines eligibility rules, including Pennsylvania business connection and minimum annual state tax due, and describes the role of Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund (CPSF) in administering SPEs without taking fees, while noting joinder agreement requirements for participation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

How the program works

Donor example and tax credit calculation

Who is eligible to participate

St. James School partner: CPSF

Fees, paperwork, and joinder agreement

Your Tax Dollars, Your Choice How to Transform your Personal State Taxes into a St. James Scholarship [www. stjamesphila.org/tax](www. stjamesphila.org/tax) | Meet Jayden – a St. James 5 th grader | | | --- | --- | | | • Is a member of House Industria – known for their diligence
• Lives less than 1 mile from St. James
• A member of St. James instutmental band
• Just earned Student of the Month
• His older brother Cedrick also attends St. James and is in 7th grade. | | This is E. W. Rhodes School | | | --- | --- | | | • Jayden and most of his classmates attended Rhodes before St. James – it is a neighborhood public school.
• Serves 590 students in grades K – 8
• Only 11% of 5th graders are proficient in reading
• Only 5% of 6th graders are proficient in math
• Unfortunately, Rhodes is on Pennsylvania’s“Low-Achieving Schools” List | | Opportunity Scholarships | | | --- | --- | | | • Because Jayden is zoned to attend a school on the“Low Achieving Schools” list and his family qualifies based on their income level, he is eligible for an“Opportunity Scholarship.”
• An Opportunity Scholarship is designed to help students who are zoned to attend poor-performing schools afford a higher-quality school – like St. James School.
• Your state tax dollars can be used to provide this scholarship! | | Meet Sally – a St. James donor. | | | --- | --- | | | • Sally enjoys supporting causes she cares about, especially St . James School
• Sally pays about $5,000 in taxes to the state of PA each year | Then, she learned about PA’s scholarship tax credit program…. • Sally joins a “special purpose entity”(SPE) . An SPE is a specially-formed LLC, made up of a group of donors interested in diverting their state taxes to scholarships. The SPE’s manager applies for tax credits from the state to pass onto members. • Sally makes a contribution of $5,000 to the SPE. • The SPE donates $5,000 to St. James for scholarships. What happens to Sally at Tax Time? • Sally receives a 90% tax credit for her gift 90% of $5,000 = $4,500 • Sally’s PA tax bill now looks like this: • PA Taxes Owed: $5,000 • Minus Tax Credit -$4,500 • Total Owed: $500 Who is Eligible to Participate? 1. You must be an employee, owner, or shareholder of a business authorized to do business in Pennsylvania. 2. This includes non-profit employees and retirees as long as you own stock in a business that operates in PA. 3. You must owe at least $3,500 in state taxes annually. St. James School’s Partner • St. James School partners with Central Pennsylvania Scholarship Fund (CPSF) which manages multiple SPEs. • CPSF has expertise on the tax credit program; they work with 400+ schools across the state and have distributed $60 million in scholarships! • CPSF is managed by certified accountants. St. James School’s finance committee fully vetted CPSF, reviewed its by-laws and financial statements, and spoke with references before initiating the partnership. • Learn more [at:](at: www.pennsylvaniaeitc.org)[ www.pennsylvaniaeitc.org](at: www.pennsylvaniaeitc.org) Does the SPE Charge Anything? • CPSF handles all the paperwork related to applying for the credits and will send you the tax form (K-1 form) you need. • The program is increasingly popular. It is available first-come-first-serve, and the sooner you can submit your paperwork, the better. • CPSF does not take out any fees. They will pass along 100% of your donation to St. James School. • To join, you will need to review and sign a joinder agreement indicating your commitment amount . (Accepting now for 2023!)

FAQs

How can my Pennsylvania tax dollars become a St. James scholarship?

You join the scholarship tax credit program by contributing to an SPE, which donates to St. James School for scholarships. Your state taxes are then reduced by a tax credit based on your gift.

What is a special purpose entity (SPE) in this program?

An SPE is a specially formed LLC made up of donors who want to divert state taxes to scholarships. The SPE manager applies for tax credits and passes them on to members.

Who is eligible to participate and what are the key requirements?

You must be an employee, owner, or shareholder of a business authorized to operate in Pennsylvania, including qualifying nonprofit employees and retirees who own stock. You must also owe at least $3,500 in state taxes annually.

Sep 19, 2026

Upload by James